Avidity
by CircusControl
Summary: Add together the choices you make, the environments you're exposed to, and the instincts inherent to your very being and you then get the sum of yourself. That doesn't change even if you remember a past life. Or at least, I thought it was the case. Until eventually, I got to experience something that would make better men than me shit their pants. Semi-SI as Ash, AU.
1. Life After Death

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**Beta:** BerserkSpectre

**Chapter 1** – Life After Death

* * *

"_Memory… isn't but an internal rumor." - George Santayana_

* * *

_**729 nautical miles north of Cinnabar Island**_

"Mum!" A kid wailed not too far from where I was. Which meant I needed to find another empty corner. "When can we go out of here?" He asked.

"It's 'when can we _get_ out of here,' sweetie." A feminine voice corrected not unkindly. "And I'm afraid I don't know either." Her voice took a slightly worried tone at the end.

"Aww shucks… I thought pokemon were good, Mum. Why are the jerk pellipers so mean?" He asked with a nasally voice.

"Timothy, look at Mommy," I heard clothes ruffling, probably her kneeling to his level. "What would you do if a stranger with a really big car crashed into the living room and drove out without even saying sorry?" Wow, that's a weird analogy if I've ever heard one. "I'm sure you would be upset at the jerk in the car, yes?"

"Uh… Yes! It's our house, duh!" Legendaries… can't you be a bit louder, Timmy?

"Well, it's the same for the pellipers. You see, they think of the place where they live as their territory – their home. So, if someone comes near their home, they will try to defend it. Do you understand?"

"Um, I think?" Timmy told his surprisingly level-headed mother. "Well, _I'm_ not chicken! When I'm big and strong, I'll go out and beat up all the mean pokemons." Heh. You'll need that bravado out there, kid. I'm sure ursarings will appreciate the cannon fodder.

"Hey, you! What's so funny?"

What? Oh,no… He must have heard me snorting. Aaand he's got his mother in tow.

I finally got my head out of the paper bag clutched in my hands and took a good look at the bane of my existence for the past five minutes.

And I have to say I'm not impressed. A mop of brown hair stuffed under a white-rimmed blue cap, blue eyes and an impossibly aggressive stance loomed over my floored form.

The woman behind him had on an unassuming and conservative yellow sundress which fitted her dead-anime-mom-styled hair quite nicely. That made me cringe at the thought of my own mother having it done the same way.

"Well, what's so funny? I heard you laugh, you jerk!" The ball of hostility before me said that in such an entitled tone, I'd be hard-pressed to find similar in a convenience store's holiday part-timer.

I raised my gaze to his mother who gave me an apologetic look and tried to usher Timmy away.

"Timothy, stop bothering this young man, there's a TV over there." She said while tugging gently on his shoulder. "Oh, look! There's Dedenne & Glameow on. You like that show, right?"

"Muuum," Timmy whined, still glaring at me. "That show is for little babies. I'm nine and three quarters. I'm big, now!"

'Nine'?! That last line struck me hard. This brat was nine?

I stopped paying attention to the back and forth taking place a feet away in favor of rethinking every decision I had taken for the last four years of my life. I was literally the same age as Timmy when the dreaded decree 130-13 passed through the Kantoan Elite Four oligarchy.

The mortality rate for rookie trainers had been steadfastly increasing for years until 991, where it reached 12.1% for Kanto, and a historic high of 18.9% for Unova. That was the metaphoric last straw for the Pokemon League, who imposed on the seven regions it oversaw a series of programs to follow and approve of by the end of the year 992 under threat of overhaul by Sinnoh and Hoenn's united front.

Such an alliance, however temporary it was, proved to be enough for the ever elusive and neutral Galar to adhere to the treaty. Same for the antagonistic Unova and the eternally tussling Kanto and Johto, who, for the first time since the Sevii treaty, rallied under a shared decision. The embargo needn't be anymore.

After the first two years of resetting the debut training age to twelve, results had been registered. Positive results, stellar in fact. Enough that the average mortality rate for the six regions plummeted down to 10.79; for a Sinnohan lowest of 7.3, reflecting their progressive methods, and an unsurprisingly Unovan highest of 13.6; a tragedy dreadfully veiled as a factual improvement.

Which naturally prompted a couple additional increases in the debut trainer age until it unfortunately capped the previous year at fourteen. Unfortunately, because it meant at the time another year of waiting for Ash who had to witness before his eyes every single one of his peers leave Pallet Town until only him was left.

There he was, a twelve and a few months old boy in a town filled with elderly and retired people, now empty of any kindred soul he could have called his friend. Naturally, he cursed any and all God known to his inexperienced mind.

He could hear his mother talking with Samuel and her friends on the phone, he wasn't deaf and a house bought by a single mother couldn't conceivably have thick enough walls for him to ignore what was said when they thought him asleep.

They thought him depressed.

They'd say he had something called dysthymia or something. A search on the internet and an auto-correct later taught him it was a prolonged period of sadness. He wasn't sad, he was angry… angry and bitter. Bitter at his mother for not birthing him 3 months earlier so he could have gone out in the world with his friends. Bitter at Samuel for giving him those eyes full of pity. Bitter at the league for reporting his journey by four years. Bitter at the world for him being sad and angry and bitter and weak enough to let those tears running down his cheeks.

They thought him depressed.

…I wasn't.

Cutting out my musings, I looked back up to see that Timmy and his mother already went back to sitting on a couch near one of the TV of the vast ballroom, accommodated for entertaining the passengers until we could get out of the pelliper zone, as the captain had jokingly called it.

Which led me to consider once again, was I really like that kid when younger? If so, I could understand and maybe even condone the actions of the League. I was so angry for the past two years at the world for not giving me a chance to prove myself. But maybe, they were right?

Maybe I could put all those thoughts behind me and enjoy more of what the world had to offer. My eyes trailed of their own accord to my mother, who was already looking in my direction, her gaze meeting mine. Her smile always seemed to cheer me up before the League took everything from me and I became angry.

Maybe I should cherish what I have indeed.

I got up to my feet and realized I wasn't feeling nauseous anymore, even though the whole trip until now was ruined by sea-sickness.

I skipped a step and approached my mother, a beautiful woman who had given me everything I have and made me everything I am.

It felt as if a dark fog was cleared out by a swarm of cutiefly using defog. As if the boulder chained to my ankles was rock smashed by a fluffle of buneary. I could finally see the beauty of the world again.

Maybe spectating the tournament taking place later in the afternoon would be a good place to start for our previously lost bond to be forged back?

"ASH!" Mom's cry of anguish ejected me out of my musings again.

Maybe I couldn't do any of that.

Her horrified visage and an excruciating pain in the back of my head were the last thing I remembered… as Ash Ketchum.

* * *

Delia's arm was still outstretched in shock. One second her son was walking her way, looking happier than she'd ever seen him be since he was ten. She thought blowing all her savings and missing two weeks of work for this cruising trip to Cinnabar Island had finally paid off; her baby boy finally seemed fine – dare she even say, relieved, as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders – after puking his heart out for the past two days.

Then, a hypno popped out of the very air behind her son and knocked him out with what seemed to be a Confusion attack.

Except, humans don't get knocked out by psychic pokemons unless it is by Hypnosis. Confusion scrambles the brains of under-developed humans and less intelligent pokemons.

She oh so desperately hoped for a case of hypnosis, but her years as Samuel's assistant left her with enough understanding of psychic forces to recognize their most distinguishable moves.

Ignorance was bliss, as they said. She could have shared Ash's last instants at his side if she had thought him merely unconscious. But no, she could do nothing but stand still like a statue while what looked like men in black and gray uniforms barked orders around the room.

It was total chaos.

And… was the man in front of her screaming something at her?

She wouldn't know. A foreign and bizarre sensation of brisk chilliness invaded her skull and she collapsed in a frothing at the mouth seizuring mess.

* * *

_Crack_

_Thunk_

_Crack_

Good, this one makes it… fifteen saplings? Should be enough for now.

I began my trek back to the clearing on top of the cliff, where I had begun making camp. Perfectly located, an easily remarkable landmark, overlooking the whole island and far enough from the surprisingly clear and clean looking pond at the base of the hill. I would have to boil the heck out of its water before trusting myself not to die, though.

Waking up to the feeling of coarse sand roughing up every single inch of my skin wasn't what I imagined to be waiting for me beyond that blinding light.

The deluge of foreign memories following my… _awakening _certainlywasn't it either.

And the uncontrollable sobs wrecking my once again adolescent frame were equally unwelcome.

Don't get me wrong, I could understand Ash's sorrow at seeing his own mother receive a bullet to the head, through the eyes of a stranger possessing his very own body, no-less. Even more so when it was the last thing he would recall and bring up with him to the afterlife.

Sadly, I could only stall the breakdown rising up. I doubted the dark clouds looming over the horizon would be courteous enough to give me the reprieve I needed, after all.

Pinning six of the sturdier young bamboos into the ground, I considered that being stranded on an island might have been an even better option than drifting to a populated beach or such, as I needed time alone to sort out all of this mess in my head.

The flexible saplings went next, stuck together with the bamboos by long filaments extracted from some of them. Hopefully they would be dry enough to survive the oncoming storm.

I couldn't help but hum 'On An Island' by David Gilmour as I flexed and tied together the three opposite pairs of saplings with another bunch of wood-string. Maybe I could have learned the correct terms for all those, but my uncle didn't talk much when he taught.

The bundles of palm tree leaves came next. What a relief it was to see the variety native to this island were relatively close to the ground. It still took me around two hours to collect enough thatch for what I had in mind.

My train of thought eventually led me to questioning everything that seemed to go well for me until now. Now, don't misunderstand. I was fucked well beyond repair in this situation, there was no denying that.

Still, I had survived a shipwreck – or at least, getting thrown out of a ship – and miraculously made it ashore to a non-hostile island. An island, I might add, with a large and cleared out beach even with a tide that looked to be at its highest level. An island which, by all means, shouldn't have existed if Ash's dim knowledge of Kanto's geography was anything to go by. An island with a conveniently easy of access source of seemingly potable water. As well as what was a really close approximation of the vegetation I was used to see back home.

Shaking my head, I began splitting the large leaves in two and finished 'building' the roof at just the right time to get shelter from the rain. I then began the arduous task of lighting a fire.

It was a bit after resolving myself to endure the smoke in exchange of sweet heat that I realized none of this was coincidental. If me being 'reborn' as Ash Ketchum of the Pokemon franchise wasn't enough to make it clear, then all of the succeeding coincidences were obviously enough to hit it home.

After an exhausting day of collecting resources a la Minecraft to put a roof on top my head, I felt I deserved a reprieve and finally let my thoughts come back to the issue at hand.

God, were those few seconds of shared consciousness with Ash weird. I'm sure nothing in this world would ever top that in term of sheer bizarreness. It was disturbing enough that I decided to bury it deep inside my mind and act like the adult I was close to become in my… in my past life?

And wasn't that weird? I lived longer than what my second set of memories told me. Older enough that I could recognize which set was the original.

Though, what really let me know for sure was the detachment I felt while watching Mum dyi – Delia. When I watched Ash's mother – Delia – die.

For fuck's sake, I have nothing to gain from this angst. Let's think of something a bit more exciting.

I focused for a moment on the embers crackling under the fire and the gentle pitter-patter of the rain gradually evolving into a crescendo of water bullets, which would effectively destroy my slapdash job if the storm lasted beyond dawn.

I was in Pokemon.

I absentmindedly reached for the pile of fire wood and pushed it to a corner that wasn't getting soaked in errant raindrops.

As in, there were pokemons in this world. And pokemon battles were a thing, here.

And they weren't like simple animals of my world, no. You could bond with them. The more developed ones could even understand human speech.

I used to be an avid consumer of fanfiction and had read my fair share of stories depicting pokemons as nothing but animals with extra conception steps, like electric sacks, or nitroglycerin creating saliva glands.

Here, they were supposed to be of equal overall intelligence to humans, with some psychics and ghosts even managing to surpass them.

Sure, the wild ones representing the majority of the pokemon population ranged from barely docile to immensely dangerous and feral, with a consequent inclination towards the latter. But that wouldn't stop me from trying my hand at training.

No… No, I wouldn't just try. I would excel and go beyond anything this world had ever seen or will ever see.

I have no idea how, where or when, but I've fantasized too much about this situation for me to let such an opportunity slip.

I've lost everything I had; a loving family, friends, a pretty good future. Sacrificed all I had, but not all I was. Only to gain the opportunity to fulfill an ambition I would never have dared to even think possible before this day.

I've lost everything I had, just as Ash did on this very day – or was it yesterday? -

Delia seemed to be an exceptional woman, who chose to sacrifice her own well-being to assure a good future for Ash. A boy who mourned her passing.

I did no such thing.

No, I felt disgusted at myself, but I was relieved. I always hated lying, and always strove to at least be honest with myself. And that honesty forced me to acknowledge the woman as nothing but a potential burden whom I would have deceived and pretended to be a long-dead son.

I owned nothing. Except maybe a house which I would try selling to finance my journey and get officially emancipated.

From Ash's recollections of his days fawning over the various regions' Conferences, The Indigo Conference last took place six months prior. That should leave me about two and a half years before the next edition.

I was currently 13 years and nine months old. Three months before I would be allowed to take the test which would grant me a trainer license.

Ash, for all his numerous faults, was really passionate about his prospective career. He worked as hard as to know the two previous curriculums by heart. It did left me feeling tremendous guilt over the unfairness of the situation, but I easily quashed that uncertainty with greed.

Greed? No… It was more than that. So much more than that.

Avidity.

I was avid for glory, I wanted to set records impossible to break for thousands of years. I wanted my legend to be portrayed and told to future generations until the end of times.

Yes, I cloud see a plan taking form.

I needed a starter. Samuel was really close with Ash, enough to be considered a grandfather figure by him. If I played my cards right, I could perhaps even make him cover the totality of the costs of my debut.

I also needed gear. As in, proper traveling gear. Delia still hadn't bought any for Ash. I could take a guess and imagine she intended to take a loan just before Ash's departure. Her meager salary wouldn't have covered the costs of feeding them both after such an expensive purchase. Meaning she had waited until the right moment. Again, a smart woman she was.

I neede- I can't hear the rain anymore? I quickly shuffled out of the primitive hut. Only to be greeted by the first of many marvels I will seek out around this world.

A torrent of falling stars were galloping through the starry sky, celestial bodies intertwining in an ephemeral dance I was branding in my memories, but such idyllic beauty was too much for my mind or my eyes to fully register, as I could only gaze upon the spectacle before me, mouth agape, and failing to put words on the alluring and enchanting meteor shower.

It was minutes later when I came back to and realized I had unconsciously moved to the peak of the cliff. Situational awareness returning to me, I discerned two pf the meteors detaching themselves from their brethrens' path, rapidly making their way to my position.

Rooted on the spot, I gradually spied startling details about the seemingly sentient projectiles. One blue, the other red.

The blue one reached me first and abruptly stopped its course some twenty feet above me, sending me crashing on my backside. Seconds before the red one did as well, without any air displacement whatsoever.

Embarrassment flooded my veins as I realized I fell not due to a gust of wind, but startlement.

Fuck, why is Red getting even closer?! I quickly scrambled back to my feet and took a step back. An idiotic reaction I cursed myself for, they obviously could have crushed me if they so wished.

With bathed breath, I stared at the creature as it slowly made its way to where I stood, ready to bolt at the first sign of hostility.

Once it was close enough for me to accurately see its features, I focused on its eyes. And my breath caught into my throat.

The smiling pair of warm amber orbs gazing back instantly filled me with reassurance and made me feel safe. The aerodynamic white head they were connected to stretched into a long neck meeting the bright red fur of a bird-like squat body ending with a pair of jet wings.

A closer examination of the ear-like fins on top of her head revealed the previously assumed fur to be feathers instead.

Her, for it was a female indeed. A Latias.

A Latias.

Which meant the blue one still sharply examining from afar was a Latios.

Fuck, this is surreal.

Yeah, I have to get something out of this. It's too good an opportunity to pass up.

I plastered a smile onto my face and warmly addressed the legendary in the front of me. "Hey," I started.

"Are you real Latias and Latios?" I asked, channeling my inner Ash. Left unsaid that he probably wouldn't have recognized them.

A tilt of the head from Red was the answer I got back. Idly, I likened it to be left on read by someone you texted.

"Err," I began uncertainly. "Yeah I suppose that was a dumb question, yeah..."

I stepped to the side and beckoned them with a hand to my pseudo camp. "I guess orange juice or something would have been better, but I could get you some water if you'd like." I didn't let myself dwell on their reactions and scurried back to the camp.

At this point, I had no idea what I was doing. Maybe trying to throw them off their game before they could do the same?

A sudden chill ran down my spine. They were psychics, what if they could read minds? I would truly be beyond fucked if it was the c-

"_Actually we can._"A cheerful voice resonated into my skull, making me wince for a brief moment at the foreign sensation.

I stilled for a beat, then kept my stride up. "Oh?" I began without facing them. "And how much did you get to see, exactly?"

She began giggling in my mind, a weird tweeting sound its physical equivalent. "_It's much more fun to leave you guessing,_" she teased.

I said nothing for a moment, then plopped down on a soaking wet trunk conveniently found laying around.

Collecting my thoughts once again, I looked up to see the Latias floating a safe distance away, her eyes still glinting mischievously. Her brother… mate? Her something a few lengths behind her, giving me an impossibly disgusted look that made the hairs of my neck stand on end.

"Ah…" My posture slumped and my eyes moved to the mud stuck on my not-so-white-anymore sneakers. "So you already know." I stated more than asked.

None of them said anything.

Not wanting to dwell on this, I opted for a more direct approach and looked the Latias dead in the eye, ignoring the antagonistic Latios. "I guess Blue doesn't do sympathy all that much, huh?"

She smiled at me, then brought up a paw to her mouth to laugh. "_He's not really talkative, is he?_"She relayed, throwing a fond look back at Latios, whose features softened for an instant.

"_Now, don't you have any questions for us? We're only messenger__s__here__, but I'm sure we can answer some of them._" Latias said, turning back to face me.

I mulled over that for a bit and went with the most pressing concern I had. "You're the first pokemons I've met, you know?" I got up and began to pace around without realizing it. "I've been on edge all day, waiting for an Ekans or something like that to pounce on me." There was a rant coming up. "I mean, it's cool of your employer or whatever to have kept me alive from the tentacruels and to have left all those handy things around the island and all, but I'd have preferred an earlier confrontation, you know? And what the fuck am I supposed to do around here?! Are you here to give me a ride to civilization? If so, I'd be fucking mad to have built all this crap only for you to come and get me out of this shit-ho-

"No," I stopped dead in my tracks. I could feel my eyes bulging and my lips peeled back into a snarl.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few moments. When I came back to, I could see Latias peering at me with a comprehensive gaze and Latios still glaring at me, but with admittedly less intensity than before.

Finally exhaling through the nose, I decided to keep on delaying the inevitable breakdown. "Sorry for that." Air filled my lungs again. "I'm not really in the best state of mind right now, it kinda makes sense for you to give me time to take it all in."

Latias gave my deflated form a kind look. "_Yeah, the big boss thought so as well. I mean, we didn't realize you had replaced Ash until halfway through the ride but he still said to go through with the plan until he thought o__f__ something."_

I perked up at what she said, "What? Are you saying there was a plan for Ash before I- before I… took over?

"_Well ye-_" She clammed up out of the blue and I could only guess she was having a telepathic conversation with Latios.

After thirty seconds or so, she gave me wry smile, "_Sorry, he likes his strong and silent persona._"I snorted at that. "_Anyway, I might not supposed to do so, but you __don't give me any bad vibes at the moment__._"

It was enough to make me let out a breathe I didn't know I was holding.

"Yeah, it ain't the first time I've been often told I was a good guy." My lips naturally tugged up into a coy smirk.

She smiled at me and threw her head back in good natured laughter. "_And a __transcending__ expert __in humility__ as well, I see. You might need to get that ego under leash, kid."_

"Oh don't worry. I would never call myself an expert in any field. Well… other than being born." I scratched my temple with a finger, smiling disarmingly. "I'd say I did exceptionally well, managing to do it twice before eighteen."

Her smile got a bit crooked at that. "_I__ wouldn't technically accept one of those as a valid one, you know?_"Practically all mirth drained out of her face following that, replaced by a contemplating look. "_It's actually one of the things we're supposed to get out of you._"

A sense of foreboding crashed over me when the Latios began approaching as well. I felt another of those tingly feelings to the back of the head before a rich and deep voice assaulted my mind, much harsher than Latias' warmer, feathery touch.

"_Boy,_" He rumbled. "_The Light-Bringer demands you atone for your crimes."_

Feigning confidence, I reared up as tall as I could. Raise your voice, act like you knew exactly what you're doing and that you damn well have every right to do it, and most people tended to believe you. That was the first commandment of any bullshitter deserving of their title. Well… them, and 45 year old mothers named Karen.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Uh-oh one of the worst way to start an advocacy. "I mean, I really don't know either. Like, I think I know what you have in mind, but I really am as much in the dark as you, here."

Seeing the stare-down Latios and I were having, - well it was more him glaring and me fidgeting in place – Latias took the reigns back. "_Haha_…_ Yeah, I guess __it's not everyday you get resurrected after dying, huh? Talk about weird..._"

Here, she gave me a comprehensive look and added, "_Still, we really __do __need to know how and why you're in this situation._"Her features turned contemplative and she began rambling to herself. "_Mew might have messed up when she tried to shield him from that hypno's attack. Awww, I can't come back __empty-handed this time, not__ again._"

"Hey," I interrupted her, confusion rising within me. "Are you saying your boss wasn't the one sending me in this guy's body?"

She started and looked up at me. "_Well, that's what we were going for initially, but something broke Mew's connection with Ash's mind for a split second and -_"

"_Latias!" _TheLatios barked out.

The Eon gritted her teeth and frowned at her blue counterpart. "_What! __Stop being __so rude, yo-" _She then adorned a sheepish smile and somehow reached with her stubby arm to scratch the back of her head. "_Yeah, yeah sorry. Shutting up now._" Again, in an impossible show of dexterity, she mimed her mouth zipped.

Captivated by the surreal experience that was a Latias looking embarrassed, I didn't react fast enough to distance myself from the Latios who came up to tower intimidatingly over me.

"_Now boy,_" he spat. "_You __shall t__ell us everything we __want__ to know, or -_"

"You'll what?!' I snarled, feeling the most angry I felt since a long time. "Or else, you'll what?! Huh?! You're gonna get it out of me? Fucking jackass, you already read my fucking mind and I didn't even throw a fuss since it was already done! And now that I tell you I don't fucking know what happened to me going to hell or heaven or wherever the fuck, you threaten me into what, exactly?! Are you gonna pull a third set of memories out of your ass?! All this shit was totally out of my control, just as having to fart for flying was out of yours!"

"_Hey__!_"Latias hastily jumped between us. "_We haven't read everything, only surface thoughts and a vague idea of who you are. We can't do that without you not trying to defend your mind."_

"Yeah and what about it? Do I have to roll over and wag my tail for you?!"

"_No, no! You just have to let us in without making us use force. __It's really either that or__ your mind turning into scrambled eggs_." I would have lost it if it had sounded like a threat, but she was genuinely stating facts.

I scowled at them both and considered my options. I could let them in, as I honestly didn't know about my untimely fate, all for not pissing off two legendary dragons. On the other hand, I'd have to relive my death and lose a fair bit of dignity, revealing everything fucked up about me.

Call it pride, call it idiocy, call it whatever you'd like. My personal favorite was hubris. But I didn't give a damn and refused.

At that last thought I saw the two Eon pokemons getting grim and determined before I hurriedly waved my hands in front me.

"Wait, wait wait! I just thought it would be funny to see you reacting to my thoughts, I'm okay with it." They both relaxed, Latias holding both paws over her maw to stifle her laughter, prompting me to do the same.

Not even Latios' thunderous expression made me stop for a good thirty seconds. There was something hysterically funny in making fun of certain death.

"Alright," I wheezed out, "Oof… That was unreal. Sorry for that, Blue. I just had to do it."

Nope, he just glared at me again. It frankly wasn't as intimidating as he probably thought it was.

Latias gave me the equivalent of a sigh telepathically..

"Cool," I began. "So, I don't really want to know how you'll do your thing. Just… Don't judge me too harshly, I guess?" My voice cracked a bit at the end, making me wince.

A sympathetic not was the answer I got. "_Don't worry, we might be the youngest of our siblings, but we've seen enough evil not __to __be surpris-"_

I didn't hear the rest of her sentence as it was drowned out by a growl of frustration and my vision turned black.

* * *

Coming back to consciousness, I realized I was yet to open my eyes, nor did I overtly moved. It was the perfect occasion to try and eavesdrop on any conversation.

…

…

"Yeah, you can't talk out-loud and I just wasted time looking stupid, didn't I?" Getting up, I took time to once again inspect Latias' cheerful countenance and Latios' stoic one. It never got old.

"Since I'm still alive, I can only assume you didn't found anything inculpatory?" I dusted my jeans and button up shirt. Yep, they were definitely ruined.

At that, Latias stopped. "_Yeah, you get __off__ with a slap on the wrist this time young man, __although__I'd suggest leaving trans-dimensional travel to professionals._"She playfully admonished, though I could detect a certain warning in her tone.

"Nah, I'd definitely do it again if it meant I could do what I have in mind." I waved her off snobbishly, trying and apparently failing to mask how lost I felt.

Fortunately, Latias put a stop to my inner turmoil with a disarming smile and a paw on the shoulder. "_I'm sorry for __this, Ash. Really._"

I simply nodded and stayed silent for a minute.

"What did you think, though?" I looked her dead in the eye.

She tilted her head. "_What do you mean?_"

I snorted self-depressingly at that. "I think you know perfectly what I mean. You read my mind." I stated, feeling a my throat clamp up. "You know literally everything there's to know about me. Maybe more than my own mum."

She shuffled even closer to me, and I could see Latios tensing from the corner of my eye.

"_You don't have anything to prove, you've been given a second chance. I don't know how or why, but you have. And to be honest, I kinda like you. We haven't had too much experience extracting memories before, but you're the first I didn't outright dislike after doing so." _

Here, the mischievous glint in her eyes brightened her features back. "_But if you really want an genuine answer, I have to say you sucked real good out there."_

A wry smile overcame mine at that. "I have no idea whether to interpret that as good, bad, both, or just plain perverted?"

That led another bout of hilarity, this one with a hint of despair for me.

"_You're so silly," _she strained to say.

"And don't you ever doubt it," I said with my chest puffed out.

After calming down, we shared a long look and it dawned on me. They were going back where they came from, and they would leave me here. My first thought was to try to bum a ride to the nearest populated area from them.

And I would have, if not for the apologizing look Latias gave me.

"_I'm really sorry," _she said. "_If it was up to me, I'd get you __to y__our home, but we have orders._"

I couldn't drop this just like that. "Is there really nothing I could do to convince you? I've got a mean pizza in my locker, if you'd like?" I asked hopefully.

"_Haha, I'm sure it would be delicious but we really can't." _She obviously felt uncomfortable but so was I at the idea of having to stay here any longer.

"Please, I'm already sick of this shithole and it hasn't even been a full day yet." I pleaded.

Latias looked conflicted. Good, that was what I was going for. Only a little push and-

"_Enough!_"

I reflexively took a step back and stood on the balls of my feet, ready to bolt at a snap. Well, I tried anyway. The blue shimmering outline trapping my movements clearly wouldn't go away if I asked nicely.

The cause of my restrains came up to my face and loomed over my frozen form – wow, those are some serious muscles he's packing.

"_Be careful what lines you cross, Deceiver."_

His hot breath washing over my face stank of blood and death. I was only then reminded that those were apex predators I was trying to haggle a ride out of.

Nonetheless, I pushed back with a snarl and summoned all the confidence my gut could spare.

"My apologies then," I started. He seemed surprised at the apology. If he had indeed seen my memories, one thing that jumped out would have been my compulsive reject of any form of apologies.

I _loathed _empty platitudes. Whenever I did something that I felt deserved me being sorry, I would try and do better the next time. I would owe a favor to the person wronged or do something to make up for it. But I wouldn't apologize.

"You know, I've always found that metaphor a little unfitting," I continued as I knew I had his attention once he lifted the constricting force on me. "The thing about lines, in the sand or otherwise," I picked up a discarded wet branch and dramatically traced a line between us.

"… yeah. Once you cross over them, you can actually step back again without any problems." I demonstrated as much, to the confusion and then rage of the flying blue dick in front of me.

I matched his frown with a shit-eating grin of my own. "That wasn't the case when you've fucked with my brain earlier you limp fucking areo-dick. I might one day end up forgiving Red, but you… You've been nothing but a bitch to me even before you had any idea who I was."

A glaring contest took place after my rant. One I was sure of winning since he apparently couldn't kill me without upsetting whomever their boss was.

An intense stare-down which I won after an ethereal mirthful laugh from Latias made him look her way incredulously. An expression I matched after patting myself in the back for technically making 500 kilos of dragon back down.

What made my dumbfounded expression morph into a full blown dropped jaw was Latios joining her in laughing at a still unknown reason.

After a few breaths, Latias promptly turned back to me. "_I think you'll do just fine,_" she said, further confusing me. "_Look, __I'll be back soon with something._" She turned her back to us and a light began shining from her… well I certainly hoped those were reactors of some sort and nothing else. "_So, if I'm not back in an hour…_"

I think she was trying to say something cool or maybe it was important, but I felt obligated to cry out, "I'll wait longer!"

Her loud coos – probably laughter – were drowned out by what I later realized was a sonic-boom. Point being, it left my ears ringing from it.

My eardrums would have probably burst if not for the blue shimmering shield erected by Latios. I tried to nod thankfully to him but he wasn't even looking in my direction, preferring to get lost in the breathtaking picture painted by the ever changing shades of sunlight appearing on the horizon.

* * *

True to her words, it took Latias what I estimated to be a little less than an hour for her to reappear into view.

Relief flooded me at the change from the awkward and tense silence between us two bros. Not that I didn't try to rectify the situation, but Blue was simply that asocial. It was frankly unsettling.

Looking back to my favorite of the pair, I noticed a small, vaguely round object at her side, held in a red outline of what I assumed to be Latias' doing.

She floated to me again and brought the oval thing before my arms.

Impulsively, I reached up to it with both hands, the red light disappearing after having grasped it, and finally allowing me to perceive more of its details.

The feeling of smooth and warm and quivering ceramic greeted my firm but gentle touch. A deep feeling of happiness and contentment flowed through my veins, encompassing my very being.

An egg.

A pokemon egg. A real one.

I examined it closer and eventually registered the sparsely spread red and blue intertwined triangles, crisscrossing into a beautiful patchwork of cubist and abstract brushes.

"_It's ours,_" I heard reverberate inside my head. "_Us Eon__s__ are prohibited from raising our youngs, you know? We intended to deposit it at a place called the Grampa Canyon. A friend of ours predicted someone who could make it happy would find it there, but it never really s__a__t well with us to simply leave it unsupervised._" Went unsaid that they now thought me worthy enough to raise it myself.

Overwhelmed by emotion, I was still clear-minded enough to pick up on something she said that I should have clarified way before. I decided to try something.

"Yeah, Ash- Ash knew about the Grampa Canyon," I ventured. "A coal mine where they recently excavated fossils, right?"

She appeared a bit startled at that. "_Uhm, yeah. It's… weird, I don't remember Ash having ever heard of that in any of his memories._"

I got a shade paler at that. Did that mean they weren't aware of my meta-knowledge? That… that totally changed the game.

Abruptly, my train of thoughts were interrupted by what felt like a sledgehammer punching clean through my rib-cage.

A snarl was heard from somewhere on top of me. "_What was that? What did you do!_"

"Wha- I- I don't-" I wheezed out.

"_I w__ill not__ repeat myself. Your mind __was clouded in__ dark__ness__ for a moment. How did you do it?"_

That was unreal. Something was encrypting my thoughts to psychics, apparently. I could only hope it was extended to any thoughts that could potentially cause my demise and not the meta-knowledge oriented alone.

The Latios towering over me got even more enraged and sent me skidding on the ground until I was mere inches away from the precipice.

"_This is your last chance, Deceiver. You__r mind has been obscurely veiled ever since earlier__. It was no mere mistake on my part."_

I hurriedly backpedaled away from the fall, only to be met by the rancid and meaty breath of the other hazard to my health.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!" My heart was beating faster than ever before, reaching a rattling a staccato in my ears.

The monster in question wouldn't have complied if not for Latias once again coming to my rescue.

"_My love,_" she soothed. "_Let him explain himself, please."_

So they were mates, not brother and sister. That was reassuring to hear.

The Latios seemed to deflate at her tone, but still hadn't strayed his angry glare away from my own wavering one.

Taking a couple of calming breathes, I tried to come up with a way to come out alive and whole out of this mess.

A glance at Latias told me she wasn't on my side for this one; understandable. I had to sway the Latios this time.

At the end of the day, two choices were presented to me; Coming clean, or bullshitting my way out of this once again.

The truth meant a higher chance of living and perhaps dusting my hands off of the fate of the world. If I kept the knowledge of the future dangers the world would face to myself, I would have to take up the responsibility of preventing anything too cataclysmic from happening. Something that would admittedly bring some serious glory points to my curriculum vitae.

It was oh so tempting to go with that option, but I didn't know how their "Light-Bringer" would react to someone with the potential to destroy the planet with his actions, or rather inactions in this case.

It was with that reasoning that I took a left and chose my go-to pick.

Assuming a frightened and shaken countenance once again, I murmured. "I- I… I felt something strange since I've… entered this body."

I tried not to look at their no doubt skeptical faces and ruin the act, choosing instead to peer dubiously at my right hand. Idly noting the egg still cradled under my right arm, probably what kept Blue from throwing me over the edge.

"I wouldn't know how to describe it, but… I see the color blue for a moment, then I feel… Then I feel stronger, more perceptive. Even- even more confident.

"I wouldn't have been able to defy Latios if not for it. I guess I was too pumped on adrenaline to realize something was wrong."

I know I was pulling at straws here, but it's what I've always done when I wanted to get out of something. Put the onus for the decision in their hands, use guilt whenever you can.

I was hoping for Latias' compassionate personality to overwhelm whatever the fuck Latios had against me. At least enough to lead them on down the Aura route or such. I knew Ash was supposed to have it, even if it was left dormant.

Looking up with the most defeated expression I could muster, I stared between them both; evading either of their gazes. Yep, they were starting to feel guilty.

"I guess even when I'm courageous, other forces are at play." Shoulders slumped, head hung down, posture hunched. And they said I didn't have any talent acting.

After a bout of silence on both ends, I saw a light blue color enveloping me and looked back up to be met by the sight of Latios' eyes glowing the same ethereal blue encompassing my body. No- It wasn't only my body, he was staring straight at my… my soul.

"_At such a young age_…"I heard.

A glance back at the embodiments of the East and West winds let me witness them having a sort of rapid fire internal debate.

A debate that seemed to be lost by Latios, if the conflicted look he sent me was anything to go by.

I felt like a child watching two parents arguing over the custody of their kids. Punctuated by appropriate growls and whimpers from Latias and Latios respectively.

It was minutes later that their argument ended with Latios shooting me a look full of resentment and blasting off in a burst of pressure that would have sent me flying if not for a brilliantly red shield, courtesy of Latias.

Turning back to my savior, she sent me a wry smile.

"_I'm sorry for him," _she consoled. "_It's not that he hates you, it's… well…"_

"Don't worry, I think I get it." I sent here one back. "I've been making his job harder for him since the beginning. You also seem to have taken my side for most of the disagreements we had. And to top it all off, I literally got custody of his child."

At the last line, my good mood died and I had to ask. "I mean, if you still think I'm worthy of it?" I gripped the egg closer.

Her face seemed to brighten at that. _"Haha," _she giggled. "_Nah, it's calm. It actually was one of the few things he seemed to agree with, you looked like you would have given your life for the egg with how close you were clutching it. He was mortified when he blasted you back and realized you had the egg in your hand. Only for you to roll yourself __under__ it to cushion the fall."_

I- really? I guess I must have done it reflexively?

My back straight and my chest puffed, I took the opportunity for what it was –

"Well… I _did_ say I was an alright guy, no?"

– a set-up to look my best and drive it home.

We obviously doubled over in laughter and all that.

At least, that was the plan until the egg began wiggling in my arms and glowing a bright white.

Latias sent me a panicked look I distractedly picked up on and blurted out a panicked "_Oh shit, it was good to meet you. Live a long life._"

Stunned, I sent an incredulous look to her rapidly shrinking form. Was she a dead-beat father?

Fuck, what am I supposed to do? Being a dad without having ever went past second base with a girl?! Where were the producers of 'You Are Not The Father" when you need them?! Fuc-

My inner turmoil was suddenly replaced by a blissful sense of serenity I had never experienced the like of before.

Smiling down at the bundle of joy in my arms, I was hit with a light brighter than even the sun.

Yet I wasn't blinded.

It was mesmerizing.

It kept fluctuating between sun-levels bright and dim enough to see the vague oval shape of the egg.

After a good five minutes, the glow went incandescent and surrounded everything around me- around us.

Blinking the spots out of my eyes, I looked down and was greeted with the gorgeously small, white and round body of a togepi, still encased in his eggshell.

The egg part had conserved its red and blue shapes, even though they seemed to have converged to the front.

His stubby little hands – wait how can I be sure it's a he? – and round feet had two toes each. And oh my god, are those cat pads on the soles of his paws?!

My urge to squee killed dead, I came back to attention at just the right moment to see him open his sparkling dark brown eyes.

Once he got sight of me, he adorably reached for my eyes or nose or hair – I didn't know what, but I'd let him have absolutely anything this world had to offer and beyond even that.

Lo and behold, he decided to go for the hair, and grasped a strand to climb my face, using my nose as a grip for his chubby little paws.

It was with extreme caution that I guided him until he sat on top of my head.

And of course, I forgave him the pain he caused me the moment he trilled his first 'Togepi!'.

Thus I found myself, on top of a beautiful cliff overlooking a gorgeous tropical beach – location unknown – a cool and gentle breeze caressing my skin, with a ball of sunshine on top of my head – where the hell did the rest of the eggshell go? - gazing together at the rising sun where I could spy a Latias turning back one last time to nod at me – how could I have seen that at such a distance?

"Eole," I blurted out.

Regaining my bearings, I continued once I got the small togepi's attention.

"Your name… Eole."

I couldn't be sure, but I thought he had accompanied his confused trill with a tilt of the head.

"Your name will be Eole, buddy. That's supposed to be the god of wind in an ancient civilization," I clarified.

"I have big dreams, you know?" I continued. "An to accomplish them, I'll need to rise to the pinnacle and go higher than even that. For that, I'll need a partner who can stand beside me for the whole ride."

I briefly winced at the idea of further imposing my will over a newborn.

"I suppose I'll have to wait until you grow up to let you take the final decision. But I'd be really happy if you end up choosing to follow me."

The little togepi obviously didn't get everything, but I felt he had grasped the broad strokes, or most likely he did not, and I was simply too caught up in my selfishness to grasp it.

My hand snaked down to my waist and fished out a red and white marble sized device. A simple click on the central button enlarged it to base-ball size. One of the few amenities I could salvage from the duffel bag I had found conveniently laying on the sand, when I woke up.

I looked at it for a moment and addressed my newly hatched charge. "This is a pokeball, Eole. I would like to capture you with it so you can be my pokemon."

I felt genuinely ashamed at my omitting a good part of its uses. This wasn't fair to him and yet my greed and desire to own him overcame the disgust at myself.

Not to be deterred by my now somber mood, Eole made a sound I understood as him asking to be lifted up from my scalp.

Obliging, I got him down into my arms. He then turned to me, looked me resolutely in the eyes and tapped the pokeball without wavering.

I was expecting that, to be honest. I snorted and swore to myself I would never catch a pokemon again without getting its explicit agreement beforehand.

A long sigh escaped me.

…

Now, how the fuck do I get out of this island?

* * *

**A/N: Before anything, I would like to give you all my thanks for sticking around until now. I hope it was worth it.**

**So, hello I guess. And welcome to my first attempt at fanfiction.^^**

**Actually, I don't really have anything more to say, but I don't want to delete the A/N at the beginning. I like how professional it makes me sound.**

**Uploaded on: 06/08/2019**


	2. Ashes To Ashes

**A/N: Hey yo ^^. Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews. You guys are killing it.**

* * *

**Beta: **BerserkSpectre

**Chapter 2 – **Ashes To Ashes

* * *

"_Fate is a misconception, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life". - Anon_

* * *

The moon was no longer the only light source in the night. Fire rapidly spreading from tree to tree, and in front of those roaring flames was a guy running for dear life.

Ash and cinders filled the air, as the flames rose higher and higher, their orange glow illuminating the grove in place of of the moon, blocked by a layer of smoke.

Despite the humidity and bitingly cold winds, the trees were set aflame at an alarming rate.

Oh right, there was also a guy on the verge of getting sent to the afterlife vikings-style.

Now you're probably wondering how he could have gotten himself in this… predicament? Yeah, let's call it that.

Well, it's not that long a story. Perhaps even looking pretty impulsive and bull-headed from an outsider's point of view. Anyway, it all began with a bit of introspection – just like every good story should.

* * *

Most people are not prepared to die.

They are not prepared for the possibility of their demise and final moments looming ahead of them, the knowledge that their existence has run its course. It was both easy and convenient to pretend, to ignore, to push to the back of one's mind the inevitability that they would, indeed, die one day. One could not function if they constantly lived in fear of that final curtain draw after all. Those who ignored it did so out of fear, and those who embraced it, seemed more often than not to live life to the fullest.

The reason for this little bout of contemplation made itself known with the impossibly loud roar of my stomach groaning under the strain of… well, nothing. It was actually empty, that meant I was hungry.

The following groan escaped my mouth, this time.

Wonderful… Here I was, stranded in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, without any means to precisely guess where I was or anything… Maybe I could have hypothesized something though, if it wasn't for Ash's sketchy geographic knowledge, let alone with the supernatural nature of my being here.

Because, at the end of the day, that's what it was all about, no? I didn't see a single pokemon except the Eons and Eole since I first came to consciousness around 40 hours ago.

Which, evidently put me even more on edge than if I actually had encountered one of the aforementioned murder beasts. Darting my eyes around, I'd tense at the slightest rustle of a bush or foliage above.

Fed up with my jumpiness, I sighed and decided to go back to the relatively flat dirt clearing where I noticed brown stems of what might have been manioc. Something that would quite literally save my life. The only source of food I had for now were three energy bars and a chocolate one I had fished out of the providential duffel bag. I'd say there were around 1200 calories still to be had between them. So, between two and three weeks before I died of starvation if I didn't exert myself too much.

Yeah, going without food is unpleasant, but not fatal for a week or two. Add to that the bit of chubbiness Ash had accumulated with his compulsive eating and I could push it to maybe four with the need to constantly search for potable water already accounted for.

Or, well. It might have been the case, if I didn't have a twenty pounds bundle of joy and cheerfulness to care for as well. Famished as the poor guy was, he inhaled two of the five original energy bars, leaving me with the current three. Of which I still hadn't eaten any, mind you.

Speaking of Eole, I still hadn't taken him out of his pokeball since the first time I fed him. I felt conflicted about that course of action, but I didn't really have a choice.

From what little I garnered, pokeballs put the pokemon inside them into a sort of time dilating stasis where one second inside it would count as ten on the outside. Greatballs and ultraballs dilated time even more densely, that and their additional sturdiness meant they were more expensive than their ol' weaker yet more affordable little siblings.

I know it might sound inconsequential said like this without context, but for a regular pokeball, it still made time pass ten times slower for Eole. And I needed that, honestly. I quite simply couldn't afford to provide for him as much as I would in any other situation.

But that's life, I suppose. You could do nothing wrong and everything right, yet only be faced with defeat.

So, yeah… You could say I was in something of a quandary right now.

Sighing, I focused once again on searching for some kind of effing sign of edible food in this creepy rain-forest. At this point I was numb to all the nicks and scratches I was accumulating by all the branches snapping back from my barreling through them.

And so it is, bloodied by probably a literal thousand cuts spread throughout my body, that I stumble upon a clearing littered with… nothing.

I screamed. I had a decent sense of orientation and knew almost certainly that this clearing wasn't empty before. I had methodically and gradually went five hundred steps in 8 directions from a point some 50 feet away. I knew I wouldn't mess up this kind of-

"For fuck's sake!" I shrieked my first words of the day. "At this point, I should just burn this whole thing down!" That rock over there looked like prime shooting training material at this point, but my common sense still hadn't completely dwindled.

Yet…

Okay, so no fish in the sea, no pokemon around, no one to talk to, nothing edible… But there were mosquitoes still, because of course those fuckers couldn't possibly _not have a place _in this eco-system.

Yeah, someone is definitely fucking with me. And it didn't look like it was Arceus pulling the strings - who I assumed to be the Eons' boss.

So, what now? Is this supposed to be purgatory? Do I have to prove I can survive here before they would give me a chance to get the fuck out of here? Or is it a hellish punishment where I'd be forced to die slowly, watching Eole die the same way but way before I would eventually do so as well? The whole time spent fantasizing about the world of my dreams I wouldn't ever have the chance to experience?!

Nah, fuck that shit...

You know what? No one wins in this game of life by just reacting. You want something bad enough; you've got to be willing to reach out and take it. And I wanted out of here. Not really much taking going on in this case, though. It'd be more about forcing whoever is watching me out there to do something. I couldn't possibly find inside myself the patience to try and starve myself to the brink of death on the wild hope that they would think it enough.

It was all conjecture at this point, but I'm going to assume that the ROB in question or whatever was friendly, or at least amiable to negotiate. And if I had to set fire to his hypothetical plans of testing me, then so be it.

And well, the other possibility was that of a malevolent or simply bored and apathetic entity watching behind the screens…

Still. If you don't know how strong the opponent is going to be, but you're sure they are stronger than you are, then make up the difference with firepower. That was a rule of life. And well… Nothing really screams firepower more than a big-ass island-scale forest fire.

Hmm… Yeah, set fire, firepower, forest fire. It couldn't possibly be worse than what I imagine starving to death would feel like. Also, hey. If no one from the future comes to stop you from doing it, then how bad a decision could it be?

I didn't even have to feel guilty about any kind of wild-life I would be dooming, since absolutely none – and I do mean none as in literally zero – signs of animal presence had been registered here. Maybe earthworms, since the soil had to be moved for such luxurious trees to thrive as they did.

So, yeah. No guilt…

None at all.

Now, about the how. I tried to think of how to accomplish such a feat. Because, let's face it; Burning down a freaking _rain-forest _was bound to be an arduous task. Possibly a three man job even.

Alright whatever, I had hoped the hypothetical ROB would have reacted after my pyromaniac thoughts. But it didn't look like he would throw me a bone this time.

That's cool though, I might attract a ship passing by or at least alert anyone nearby of the presence of life in this island. Perhaps a veteran trainer in search of an adventure? The only thing he would find would be a soon-to-be fourteen year old brat who wouldn't stop bugging him to bum a ride on his flying pokemon.

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.

* * *

It was a plan alright, I thought as a giant tree – a hevea, judging by the burnt rubber smell suffocating me – fell down literally six feet to my right, scorching my lungs with the impossibly hot air I inhaled from fright.

Yup, a plan. Just not a good one.

My arm hairs were burnt to a crisp. My hairline was probably receding, be it from stress or the pretty explicit _inferno_ surrounding me. I had a long gash-like burn on my forearm from a random burning blob of resin dropping and sticking to my flesh until it left my arm a blubbering and oozing patchwork of blood and charred meat, and myself a wrecking and trembling mess that couldn't run straight for about ten minutes

I honestly thought the fire would be reasonably controllable, considering the high level of humidity and the fact that it was a _freaking rainforest. _For God's sake, it had rain in the name!

Whatever, I needed to get out of the forest's heart. My best chance of survival was to get to the beach and get as far away from the shoreline as I could.

Motherfucker! My right arm ached in agony. What on earth was happening to it?!

I glanced down once again. Yeah it was literally on fire not two minutes ago. How could I have forgotten that.

Must be the fumes, probably not a good thing that my brain was so slow to work.

I huffed and swiped at the torrent of sweat covering my eyes. They burned from sweat, tears and the hellish heat unleashed upon me by my own stupidity.

And wasn't I pretty stupid. I mean, at this point I didn't even know where I was headed, having zigzagged the whole way through the thick canopy of vines, foliage and trees. I wouldn't be surprised if I had been running in a circle for the past twenty minutes. I did have to go back on my steps once or twice, fire was so fucking unpredictable.

Oh God, I was so very tempted to just get down on my knees and pant to death. Sucking not oxygen into my lungs but carbon monoxide instead or whatever the fuck kind of gas burnt rubber produced.

But well, I could sense something deep inside me was struggling to keep me alive despite the toxic fumes, my heart jack-hammering at my chest and my lungs burning everything inside me.

And so I pushed on, pushed on and pushed on until I eventually burst through a particularly thick and thorny veil of vines.

Even though my everything begged for a reprieve, I wouldn't stop until I was fully submerged in water. I noted absently the fire gaining ground to the left, licking at some sort of glass like substance merged with the sand.

_Splash! Splash! Splash._

…

Have you ever experienced bliss?

As in a genuine feeling of bliss and contentment encapsulating your entire carnal envelope?

Yeah, me neither. This was salt-water I was around and I was literally covered in blood, scratches and the eight inch long burn on my forearm felt breath-taking, in a painful way.

Hissing in pain, I resigned myself to the inevitable and numerous infections I'd get before the end of the day.

* * *

This definitely wasn't the best idea I had.

I was exhausted.

I was cold.

The scorching sun searing my scalp was, in contrast, doing nothing about it. Except, of course, giving me a massive headache.

The sebum had completely left my skin, washed away by the three consecutive rip currents I had been trapped into while trying to swim my way to the gravelly patch of beach the cliff overlooked. Evidently, no sebum meant my skin was fucking wrinkly all over.

I was afraid to check on my right arm.

…

Never have I felt as hopelessly miserable as I am right now.

_Cr-Crunch. Crunch! Crunch!_

I finally crawled out of the water on all fours and just smeared myself onto the blisteringly hot gravel. I didn't care, it was fucking freezing in the water. At the very least, the excruciating pain I felt proved I was still alive.

…

I really messed up, huh?

I idly remembered a thought I had entertained way back when I was thirteen or so, when I was really into Percy Jackson.

I don't know, I really liked the idea of a whole different world existing, separated from the original we lived in by nothing but a veil of belief and imagination.

Anyway, my point was; Percy's fatal flaw was loyalty. Yeah, I know. You'll tell me, 'Hey, what the hell. It ain't fair, loyalty can't be a legit flaw. Get the fuck outta here, nerd.'

And my answer will probably be, 'Yeah well, it's not supposed to make sense. It's fiction. Now pipe down and go back to molesting your ruined socks, you fucking inbred mule.'

After all, the best stories you'll read will often be of poor quality. You just had to check how popular Fairy Tail, Bleach, My Hero Academia or even Harry Potter are to realize it is indeed the case. One Piece, Shingeki No Kyojin and Lord of the Rings not included, of course.

Back on track! I always emphasized a lot with Percy, and why not; he's awesome.

Yet… Growing up, I found myself shifting more and more into a male version of Annabeth – well, minus the genius level intelligence and the California girl looks.

All this jazz to say, I can readily acknowledge that my biggest flaw was, and still is hubris. Oh don't get me wrong, I have a myriad of those, like my overbearing sense of possessiveness and an arrogant streak I had to struggle and keep on a tight leash. But not to the level of my pride and hubris.

That would be the excuse for why I wasn't in my right mind when I took the decision to ruin the island. Neither am I right now. In fact, I could taste the acrid taste of thirst in my mouth and an incoming mental breakdown.

…

I touched Eole's pokeball and brought it before my eyes.

I considered getting him out and just hugging him. He did have empathic powers or something like that. Maybe even some healing ability?

…

Fuck it.

The pokeball opened with its distinguishable sound, followed by a perhaps unnecessary light-show.

Absentmindedly, I noted that the little togepi's weight gradually increased on my chest. Might be worth it to at least document myself on the bare minimum about how pokeballs functioned.

Finally after a moment, Eole was fully materialized, blinking the drowsiness out of his beady little brown eyes.

I didn't say anything, only stared at him until he met my neutral gaze with his own equally so.

His eyes then crinkled into a smile and he got a cheerful "Triii!" out to my face. And I had to admit, it went well beyond simply getting me out of my funk. It totally cheered me up.

"Hello Eole," I began with an almost sincere smile. "I'm sorry for leaving you into your pokeball all this time, I didn't really have the occasion to call you out." God did my throat felt like sandpaper.

Eole's cute features took an anguished and worried air at my parched voice, quickly giving me a once over and halting at the sight of my maimed arm. It probably looked even worse than it felt, and trust me when I say I felt a hair away from passing out a few times while desperately swimming my way to the shore.

Suddenly, it felt like all activity inside my body paused. As in, I could feel my blood stopped flowing around my veins, my heart skipped a few beats, my vision swam for a second…

And it all came crashing back down, my nerves worked in overload, making me feel pain I didn't know was conceivably imaginable for… f-for one second….

Darkness covered my world and I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I let my head fall to the side. Thick smoke and rolling heat threatened to fill my lungs, creating a haze of dark shrouds before me. Muscles strained as I tried to push forward, only to fall back with a silent grunt as my right hand failed to support me.

Rolling on my back, I held up my hand to my eyes only to be met with a stump beginning at the elbow.

Getting a long and hard look at it, I prepared myself to sigh until a shadow moving to my left made me jerk my head to its direction.

_**Despair **_

A pair of eyes gazed back at me with the intensity of a thousand suns. I was transfixed by them, unable to so much as twitch a finger.

The feeling of absolute dread flooding my veins left me rooted on the spot, immobile even when the eyes of a god slowly approached my form. For such a spellbinding presence could be naught but divine in nature.

As the undoubtedly divine being continued to stare through my soul, unveiling any and all insecurity I ever had, it seemed to convey a message into my mind.

One that would leave a red-forged mark into it for the rest of my life.

"̸̨̧̨̡̧̧̛̛̛͍͕͖̤͕̳̘͎͙͎͙͉͖͈̯̺͇͉͚̼̭̞̙͍̦̩̲͕͓̜̩͇̱̪̟̙̪̜̣̱̳̺̳̮̪̥̦̣͓̭̪͇͖̼̣͉͚͎̥̞̘̦̙͔̝̘̠̝̼̔̈̀͂̒́͑̊͆̄͋̊́̽̎̓͗́́͒̔̿̀̒̈̓̿͌̇̒̈́́̊̆̀̽͐͐͒̀̈̅̇͑̔̈́͒͌̾͂͌̏̊̀̾̅͆͛̊̊̋̇̌̉̀̓̈́̂͐͛̾͊͆̀͑̋́̓̇̋̎̋̈́͋̀̿̎̐̿̌̾̍̈́̂̽͗̈̆̌̔̐̏͐̋͆̆͊̍̈́͋͌̀̇̒͒̎̊̓͌͐́͑́̄̆͌̃̈̋̔̓̈̽͋̀́͒͊̍͊̾̋̎̏̊̃̓͗͌̀͌̓̎̉̆̾̾̆̋̾̈́̾͆͆͐̈́͌̑̈̀͗́̉̊̉̅̌̃͑̓̋͑̐͂́̄͐̌̓̅́͐̏̂̓͗͘͘̚͘̚̕̕̚͘̚̚̕̕̕͘͜͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͠͠ͅ_**D̴̡̧̢̛̛̛̛̛͕̤͍̟̫̰̼̹̯̮̱͍̺̣̝͕̺̬͓̫̜̟̩̮̘̗͎̖̲̤̲̬͉͒̀̋̌́̌̈́̈́̍͒̀̅͌̔̌̈́͆̾̐̎̓͒̄̔̌̇̌̒̓̉̅̄̍͒̽̓͗̐͌̽̋̽́̓̇͂̑̑͂̅̋͐̈͌͌̒̎̂̄͌̃̐̊̒̑́̑̊͗͒͑̆̓̄͒͒̽͐̑͆͆́̑̂̇̂̂̆̓̋̏͑̔̏̾̆̏͋̎̒͛̄̈̈̎̍̓̄͐́̐̈́̒̈̇̈́͊̑̑͗̊́͗̚̚̚̕͜͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͠ͅǫ̷̨̢̨̡̢̨̨̡̢̛̛̛̛̛̜̹̙͉̝̦̞̪͖͔̪̻̫̭͉͍̖̼͖͉̻̭̯̺͉̰̖͔̠̯͈̞̩̘̺̯̟̺͙̯͔̘̣̩͚̹̲̞̯̦͍̘̳̲͉͙̫͕̖̞̭̥̜̰̞͙̫͎̺̜͚̦͕̩̼̦̫͉͖̲̺̫̞̖̤͉̘̲̗͔̤̼̝̭̪͙͈̲̻̯̤͇̈͐́͊͑̐̋̔̄͒̀̆̈̔̄͑̅͂̓̌̽̑̊̏̄͑̎̊͐͋̂͑͒̇̔̊͆̉͗̔͋͋̈̒̈̏̒́͂̽̈́̅̈́́͊̆̔̎̀̉̊͋̿̎͆͘̕͘͜͜͠͠͝͠ͅ ̸̢̢̡̧̧̢̛̫̱̱͔̻̜̺̰͔̦̩̬̦̪͙̦͓͖̰̺̰̦̳̟̬̦͉̮̝͇̬͉͓̲̤̝̖̖͕̪̘̠̣̺̯̫̦͖̮̜͉̗̲̹̤̥͓̖͎̳̜̣̘̹͕̬̘̠̜̱̲̗͍̰͇̟̘̯͎͍̬̞͖̪̞̯̳̙͓͇͎͚̲͎̘̠̰̠̜̔͆͂̌͆͊̓͐̇͒̽̑͊̋̅͌́̈̾̌̽̇̾̋͋͐̎̿͗͑̈́͒͑̈́́̅̅̏̍̊̆̍͊̓̋́̊̆͗̒̔͊̇̃͛̿̑̐̐̽̀̄̿̔̔̏͐͑̽̽̐͑̃̄̊̑͋͗́̂́̍̏̔̄̆͆̋̓̅̒̽͐̌̄̍̊̃̇͐̔̔̈́̕͘̕͘̕͘̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͝͠͠͝ͅͅͅͅn̶̢̡̨̢̧̢̡̛̛͕͍̹̱̰̲̣̮͈̯̦̣̦̺͚͖̹̳̺͚͎͖̬̦̞̟̖̙̼̦̖̩̫̫̮̼̘̹̙̩̯͙̤̱͓̜͖̟͕̪̘̯̱̥̦̫̎̽͆̾̀̓͌͆͊̑͑̀̃̾̔͛͗̆̔̂̽͐͊̆́̽̊̀̽͒̄̓̍̀͛̿̑̂͋͒̈́̐̇͒͂̾͊̔́̌̆͑͑̈́́̈́̐͂̀̅́̽̇̈̆̈́̀̿͗̌͂͐̌̓̑͆̈̈́̈̅̅̇̉̈̈́͌̋̂̀́͐̋̋̿̇͌͛͑̒̂̊͑̈́͑̉͛͗̊̌̈́̓͛̈́́͊́̀̐̽̂̎̑̿͌̀͂̾͐͗̈̆͂̕̚̕͘̚̚͘͘͘̕̚̕͘͘͜͜͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͠ͅͅͅơ̶̡̧̡̡̧̧̡̨̡̡̡̡̢̨̧̡̢̡̛̛̛̛̛̤͈̣̖͍̫͈̣̠̳̬̭̬͍̟̙̮͕̹͈̜̪̜̣͇̝̠̮̳̥̣͈̗̘̻̫̱̥̱͈̰̳͇̳̰̲̘̣͎̤̰͓͕̤̰̥̝̱͇̥̻̠̦͉̟̱̬͎̰̭̜̮̟̯̹͚̫̤͔̗͍͇̠͈̳͇̥̻̦̝͔̘͎͇̩͎̼͇͔̜͍͙̪̻̜̫̗͔͍̣̳̯̣̘͉͉͖̱͇̳͚͈̻̙̖̺͓̮̙̠̟̜̪͕̪̲̫̳̝͕͍̳̝͙̳͓̌͐̑̒̿̾̓͐̈́̒̾́͗̀̾͛̀̌͌̃̈͆̈́̔́̉̐͗̾͋͑͛̊̄̿̽̿͑͊͒̂͂̃͊̈́̓͑̔̌̀̀̉̈́̐̎̓́̓̎̅͊́̓̃͋͑̀̇̎̋̑͂̒́̇̀̋̓̒̇̓̇͋̿̆̀̅̄̍̿́̈́̏͑̈̋̅̌̌̎̌͌̄̓͗̌̅̉̋̒͒͊͌̈́̒̌͛̀̅̏̋̈́̓̆̓̉̄̂̐̓̈́̓͌̿̑̈́̿̋́̌͊̄̽̈́̽̍̋̈́͘͘̕̕̕͘͘͘͘̚͜͜͜͝͝͠͝͝͠͝͝͠͠ͅͅͅͅt̵̡̨̨̡̡̧̨̡̡̨̧̨̧̡̨̨̨̛̛̛̛̛͓̙͉̘͔͍̖̥̱̥̮̯̭̭͇͔̗͔͉̜̮̝͕̖̹̟̬̺̦̜͇̤̰̹̥̹̹̘̩̝̜̹͚͚͉̻̙̗̟̳͎̭̗̱̩͕͍͈̦͈̟̲͉̭̮̪͇̪̗̞͓̣̘͎͉̝̞̜͕̫͙̣͇͖̼̮͚̭̮̖̙͇̤̘̤̰̪̬̪̮̻̣͍̹̞͕̝̺̺̜̖̜̥̝̩̩͑̏͗̄́̄͋̿̈́̈́͗̾̎̄̿̀̈̾̇̀̈̎̊́͌̑͆͊͗͌̓̏̄̈̏̄͛͗́̒̎̀̕̕͘͜͜͜͜͝ͅͅͅ ̷̢̢̡̡̢̢̛̛̛͎̗͔͉̯̪̳̞͚͎̠̩̼̪̟̻͍̲̺̯̩̤̤̬͈̟̟̩̝̤͚̝̰͇̝̘̲̩̯̪͍̤͗͗̐̑͗̂̂̌̐͒̈̓̎̋͌̌̍̄́̓́̒̔̎͆̔̅̌́͂̈́̌͗̿́͋͑̈̌͛͗́̇̈͌̇̂́̈̓̋͐͗͊̾̆̐͆͂̀̀̏̓́̀͗̄͛̎̏͒̋̂̎̏͌̽̓̌̽̌̆̓̏̾̎͂̌̃̄̔̆̊̏̀͒̂̓͒̃̈́͐͂̈́̒͂́͂͗́̒͋͂̈́̉̈́̓̽̃̓̏̏͗̎͌̆̇̌͆̍͗͆̊͌̆̔̍̀̏̇̓͛̉̑͑̃̇̏͗͊͛́̂͐͌͛̉̂̂̇̿̈́͋̔̒̃͑̀͘͘̕̚̕̕͘̚̚͘̚̚͘̚͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅc̶̨̨̡̡̨̢̛̛̛̛̛̤̱͓̜̻̲͙̗̳͇̮̭͎̦̗̥͈̭̪͙̯͍͖̞̙͕̲̙͉̣͈͎̐̆͐̔̑̒͗͛̀͋͆͌̃͌̿̏̉͋̌͆̎͗̑̅̓́̔͂́̏̍̽̇͗̊̾̀̇̈́̈́͑̒̄̓̏͑̋͑̃̓̌̏̊̈́͛̔̂͂̀͐͑͗̀͒̌̂̓́͛̾̍͆͂̔̈̀̍͊͋̓͆̀̃̈́́͌̈̈́̈͒͂̋͒̀͗̽̌̓͌̈́̈̍̀̐͒͛̐̊̄̉̑͒̌̓̌̋̀̇̌̀̈́̀͑̓͛̒͌͌̑͌̑̊̑̐̆̍͋̊͛̑̃̓̋̓̌̓̾̈́̔̀͂̎̈́̀͒̀̔̿̆̌̾̾͆̀̒̄͗̆̔̂̆̈́̀̎̎̍̀̃͒́͐̿̐͗̂̇̽͑̓̈́̍̈́̊͋͐̊̄̈̀̌̚̚̚̚̚̚̚̕͘͘̚̕͘͘̕̕͘͠͝͝͝͠͠͝͠͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͠͠͠͝r̶̢̡̧̢̡̢̨̢̧̡̨̢̨̢̧̢̧̨̛̛̛̛̛̛̫̜̙̺̪̟͙̗͓͈͎̩̼̗̟̲̞͙̥̯͕̫̝̙͕̖̬͍̠͓̺͎͎̞̗̣̰̙͔̺͚̳̜̘̣̻̫̙͚̜͍͍̺̥̤̫̖͇͔̝̲͉͎͙͓̰̱̟̣̜͖͇̱͎̫̹͖͈͙̮̪̱͚̞̟͍̦̺̞̹͕͉̳͍̝̖͖̞̻̙̬̫͓̦̣̳͔̻̼̰̝̙̗̘̤̫̞̱̼͉͇̫̫͔͎̦̻̞̰͈͎͓̤͕͈͙̣͖̺̘̮̭͈̫̯̞͎̩̱̬̩̪̪͕͙̮̠͓̯̲̱̹̖͕̝̩̻̗̗̭̼̹͕̭͇̣̞͓͔͈͍̫̣̬̹͍̫̬͍̬͓̱̟͔͚͕͆̀͌͗̑̐̓̄̐͒͆́̈́̓̍̆̏̆̌͒̓̇̊̋̋͗̔͗͑́͐̒̈́̂̄͐͂̇̒̓̿͂͋́̀̽̏̂̈́̈́́͗͒͐̑̇̂̾̐̏̏͛͛̓̀́̀́̃̑̅͛̅̓͌̽̑͛̀͛̇̽́͛̎̿̀̅̍̓̊̃̾́̓̄̀͂̈́̍̌̃̒̀͒̇̌̏͋̍̔̎̓̓̍̈͒́̃̄̀̓̒̐͌̅̐̾̎̉́͂̀́̊͐͐̏͗̅̌͆͌̽̈́̀̔̐̀̈̈́̆͛̀̍͌͆͌̂̃̇͆̾͒̐͐̾̔̈́̒̊͗̾̀̋̈́̔͗̐͐̈́̿͌́̓̃͆̿̑̑͊̈͆̈́͛̓͂̿̈́̚͘̚̕͘̕̕͘͘̚̕̚̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͝ͅͅơ̶̧̢̢̢̨̢̨̢̧̡̢̛̛̛̥̲̗͚̠̯̠̝̝̙͚̖̱̫̣͇̫̪̥̳̳̰̮̙͎͉̘͓̮̻̙̦̮̭̹̫̭̼̯͎̱̥̘̝̤͙̭͔̻̣̼̘͎̯̗̝̩̺̭̩̙̝͈̲̥̙̼͙̱͚̙̗̲̮͉̮͉̲̮͑̐̆̌̃͆̈́͌̊̐̓̍͐͗̃͗͊̍̀̽͌́̉̂͌̅̋̃̐͑̿̅̉͒̉̅̈̈́́̓̅̑̎͋́̊͛̓̍͛̀̇͌̌͊̃̑̀̉͊̅̎̓̾̔̉̽͌̓͐̅̎͗͒́́̑͑̓̂̈́̊̋͆̿̾̐͆͋̀̎̽͊̒̀̒̒͌́̇̈́̓̈́̾̍̈́̍̌̎̇̊̈́̊̈́͒̇̓͒̐̏͌̇̊̆̀̿͂͊͂̏̀̇́̈̒̍̉͒͒́̀̈́̑́̍̑͋̓̉̏͐̃͒͌̄͛̄̋̎͑͌̎̾̾́̈̑̊͂́̚̕͘̚͘̕͘͘͜͜͜͝͝͠͠͠ͅͅş̶̢̨̧̨̨̨̡̧̢̧̨̡̧̡̧̧̧̡̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̝͍̞̳̥̥͇̣̠̗̭̬̫̫̮̠̱̪̯̯̻͖̙͇̞͎̦̗̪̪͈̩͉̲͈̘̭̰̝̰̬̳͚̲͙̲̮͍̻̩̗̜̬͍͍̻̮̘͔̲̱̥̲̖̰͔̥͕̪̠͎̰̮͕̫̟̦̣͚̳̣͍̙̫̫̤͇͖̝̗͇̰̝̮̲̹̼̩̙̝͙̭̞͙͕̬͉̮̣̘̪͍͚̗̝̞͈̹̠͙̯̞͓̯͇͍̙̠̩̥̤͇̰̣̘̗̙̗͙̼̳̻̝̥̘͔̹̟̳̺͚̤̘͓̹̜̭͓̤̣̠̮͎̯̜̱̺̬͔̯̫͈̯̪̦̩̩̣̤͙̠̣̰͙͉͙̼̩̥̮̯̟͈̓͆̇͌́̃́͊̐͗̽̿̿̌͛́̄̋̀̒͋͂̃̐͑͌̓͗͊̾͑͊̌̀̂̈́͂̆̐̑̊͗͊̾̋̃̇̂̑̂͑̔̐͂̏́͊̾͗͌͂̈̅́̎̇̋̌̽͗̈͋̆̓͒̄̀̌̒̀̃̀͑̆̏́̋̂͑͗̾̋̍̌͑́͒̇͂͗̋̒͌̉̄͌͌̆̋̒͋͆́͐̍̈́͑̂̔̌̊̒͂͆̐̈́̈́̆̈̒̓͗̒̇̄̍̈́́̆̐̀̉̓̏̋͂͒͋̋̒̊͛̏̈́̍̿̀̒́͌̈́̇̍̈́̅̀͒͒̐̓̀͆͆͋̾͆̎̅̐̆̇͛̽̓͗͑̒̾͐̽̓͆̒̋́͋̄͑̃̓̽̉͑̽̌͒̈̽̅͛̅̄̈́̊̈́͆̂̎̓͌̚̕̚̚̚̚̕̕̚̚̕̚͘͘͜͜͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͠͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅͅš̷̨̧̢̨̮̥͎̟̻͓̙̩̲̪̲͉̥̖̯̜̼̣͙̖͎̩̜̞̗͔̹̮̩͕̗̞̫̙̺̹͔̪̯͚̗͖̭̱̟̤̳̰̤̩̝̟̹̙͔͇̯͖͍͖̣̮̺̳̟̫͕̞͈͈̠͓̺̔͂̀̒̌̿͑̔͆͛͗̌͋̓̍͒͌̀̅͋̀̓͛͊̑̎̉́̈́͒͋̀̓̈͗̒̕̚͘̚͘͜͜͜͝͝͝ͅ ̸̡̨̢̨̡̡̢̨̧̡̡̛̛̛̣̞̬͎̤̖̙̺̦͖̭̲̪͇̦̦̜̘͕̩͙͉̪̰͚̲̙̼͕̳̻̙̳̺̠̰͍̘̘͓̪̰̰̝͇͎̼̖͖̙͇̻̠̬̙̘͈̼̮̰̺̼̘͎̼̲̱̬̠̥̤̟͔̩̫̘̫̹͕͉̲͉̦͇͈͔̲̞̫̟̩̺̫̗̫̙̠̱͔̼̯̞̙̥̼̠̔̄͂̍̂̊̐͂̉̏͒͑̈̀̄̆͊͋̐̾̒̍̒̒̊̌̔̄͐̒́̈́̽͂̃̌̉̐͑͊̀̐͌̀́͌͊̿̀̏̋́̄̋̇̒̔̍̉͋̎̓͒͛͗̄̑͆͒̓͆̔̍̓̈́̔̈́̌̚͘͘͝͠ͅͅͅͅm̴̢̡̧̨̧̨̢̧̡̧̡̢̧̢̡̢̨̢̨̢̛̛͙̝̩̟͇͓̻̜̖̲̳̝̝̩̻̮̭̣͓̲̭̪̲͓̳̱̭̻͈͖̬̮̞̗̘̘̣̞̰̟̦̱̬͉͍̘̜͔̮̗̘̻͎̖̭̝̘̝̟͚̥̭̥͈͍͚̱͙̩̥̳̪̞̞̞̥͓͇͈̳̲̦̝̪̼̦̻̳̤͇̱͕̪̻̫͉̫̟͕̰͍̱̣̹̝̟̥͎̲̳̮̙̝̞̠̫̭̦͍̹̗͈̣̭̼͉̜̝̻̻̥̪̤͓̣̞̪̟̣̳̝͚̫͓͓̪̞̖͓̺̜̤̩͔̖̥̦̬͇͖̙̫̤͕̖̳̰̺̬̳̬̞͎͎̗͓̩͓̜͇̘͇̳̮̯͕͍̲͈̣̤̘̼̗̣̳̦̬̻͚̱̪̱̦̟̦̼̖͉̥̦̼̟̼̠̘͖̺̮̟͕̦̓̀̿̽̓̿͊̈́́̓̉̔̄̓̇́̿̂̐̽̎̋̊̽̇̀̈́͊͌͗̅̏̒̎̈̄̅͒̐̅̃̊̿̋̈̏̆̃̆͛̏͐͐̎̔̃̆͊̄̆̆̄͛̓͌̋̓̍̐̑͌͐̍̈́̂̓̓̐͊̄̒͌̈́͊̈́̊̒͑̂͐̐͆͛̓̂̈́̽̇̍̐͋͆̿̇͋̾͂̑͑̒̍͐̋͘͘̕͘̕̚͘̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅë̶̪̤̀͒͊̓̄̾͛͆͑̇̒͊̀̑̔͊̕͠ 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̸̡̨̢̧̢̧̢̢̢̛̛̛̛̛̫̤̲͓̪̯͍̯̝̞̜͚͉̗̗̝͚̰̱̬̹̲̘͓͈̣̖̗̤̺̜̜̭̯̗̱̫̬͇̠͖͖̺̫̟̖͉̱͍̝̳͖͇̯͉͓̗̙̭̱͕̦̳̱̙̙̒͋͐̏̒̆̅̔̍̀̀̊̀͆̈́̀̈́̍̃̅̉̐̈́̉́̌̏͒̀̈́̽̃͆̏̎̽͛̂̈̂̋̎̽͆̈̄̑͛̇͋̌͌̀͗̆̆̿͊̓̈͗͛̀̄̅̒̋͑̎͐̎̅̐̿̅́̔̋͂́̈́̄͑͑̌́̀́̋̋͋̅̃̀̌̀̌̈́̂̈̍̏͒̓͐̈̈̅̓̐̈́͊̊͆̾͐̍̃͗͒͗̄̚͘̕͘̕͘̚̕̕̕̚̕͘͘͜͠͝͝͠͝͝͠ͅͅm̷̧̧̨̢̢̨̨̧̡̨̨̡̧̢̧̛̛̛̛̛̭͍̫̖͉͓̪̙̙̤̩̰͓̳̤̗̼̼̣͈͍̙̲̫̞̯͎̯̥̤̝̗̰̤͈̖͚̳͎̟͍̭̼̹̫̳͖̘̙̻̱͓͉͖͓̜͉̟̗̘̗̬͈̞̥̟̗͙̜͉̦̜̖̞̯̹͖͍͚̜͙̱̲̪̪̟͉̠̜̞̠͓͖̤̙̖̯͇̱̖͍̥̤͔̼͖̹̗̤̦̮̦͇̯͎̙̗̻͔̠̜͚͓̹̺͕̝̰͉̯͉̯͈̲̱̱̫̯̩̞̳͓̞̠̝̈́́̌͆̇̋̔̉̓͗̀̽͌̂͊̿̑͗͊̐̄̉̋̎̉́̎̃̽̿̂̃̒͐͑̅͑͒̂̏͐̎́̓̌̋̈́͂́̀̑̋̇̾̔͗̐͋͗̀̾͊̈́̄̊͋̈̌͂͐͋̑͂͒̈̾̂̃̋̍̐̅͐̓̎̄͗̿̄̓̈̂́͗͒̅̃̊͋̔͋͋̒͗̀̓̀͊̀̈̔́̀͆̑̒͛͐̉̊̇̏̈̓̆́͑͊͑̆͗̈̍̋͒͛̄̏͗͋̇̃͛̐̆̍̂̆͑͐͋͛́̏̎̃̎͐̀̓̆́͐̀͆̽̏̇͗̎̽̿̑͆́͑͛͑̀̔̀̕̚̕͘̚͘̚̚̕̕̕̚͘͜͜͜͜͠͝͠͝͝͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅơ̵̡̢̡̢̨̢̛̛̱͔̼͉͇̞̭̝̲̥̰͔̳͓͉̬̱͎̘̼̖̮̺̞̙͉̲̘͎̟̬͈̥̻̹͂́́̏͒͛̀̇̃̍̔̿̈́̎̈́̅̑̑̔̌͊̌̊͋̇́̐̆̈̆̊̀̓̔͂̓̍̅̌͌͐̈́̅̋̾̂́́̉̌͋̃̎̐̎̏̾̃͑͐͒̐̄̿́̌̆̌̈́̐̏̅͒̄̉͆́̔͂͑̈́͋̔̆̈́̂̍̇̾̆̏̑̇̄̐̓̇͗̕͘͘͘̚͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅr̷̨̨̛̛̛̛̛͉̮͍̤̗̣̂̔̅̍̏̍̍͂̂̎̄̂̆̑̎̂͋̈́̂̊͗̽͊̓͗̏̑́̃̂̂̽̈́̽̈́̃̉͒̓̊́̀͑̅͛̀̑͆͆͋̈̋͗̌̽̽̍̀͑̽̐̐̀̇̈̈́̈̿̌̀̂͂̒̄̀̓͆̓̐̃͗̀͛̐̊͆̊͗̎͋̐̇̒͗̀̇͂̑́̓́̑̇͛̑̓̊͗͐̈̈́̈́͊̔̿̑͛̊̓̈́́͘̕̕͘̕̕̚͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅt̵̛̛̛̛̛̞̪̩̬̮̩̫̪̼̞͈̗̼̫̳̣͓̗̠̟͇̹͋̆́́̐̅̍̅̀̏̆̐̉̒̀̄̐͂̈́̈́̆̆̍͆͐͛̏̔̅̂̿̿̍̈́́͒͒̽̎̿̇́̃͊̀̅͛̊͋̋͒̏͂̿̉͌̂̿͂̒́̈́̑̍͑͂͛̋̈́̍̾̇̈́̏͌̾́̐̅͆̿̃̎̓̾̂͂͐̾͐̔̾̅̀̌̒͛̂͋͊̀̄͒̏̍̋̂̌̈́̿̀͌̑̋̾̽͂̿̄̍̎̊̂̄͒̇̿̽̃̐͗̿͌̓͋͐̑̏̽͂̄̆͒̑͋͆̐̽͑̌͆͑̅̄̐̈́̈̇̆̈̍̿̀̃̇̈́͆̊͊̾̐͐̿̽̑̈́̋͑̊̂̀̍͐͑͌̽̋͑̃͂̏̿̃̏̋̾̆͋̽̍̎̊̌̊̒̈̔̓̋͛̔̆͌̅̾̃̂̆̍̄̄̅̀̅͌̌̋̍͒͊̚̕̚̕̚̚͘̚͘͘̚͘̚͘͘̕̕̚̕̕͘͘͠͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͝͠͝͝͠͠͝͝͠͠͠͝͠a̴̡̨̢̨̡̧̧̡̧̨̡̧̧̨̧̡̧̛̛̛̛̛̦͚̳̞̘̻͈̥͖̠̭̗̬̖̲̣͔̙͉͇̠̝̞͚̩͖͚̟̙̖͕̱͖̟͔̻̟̪̤̞̻̝͕̮̖̙̘̲̜͕̜͉̞̼̟͉͓̣̲̙̥̥̗͈͎̰̮̯͖̮͔̱̼̙̻͍̪̬͉̘͓̣̤̞͉̣̱̼͎̳̼̯̹͚̪͎̪̼̲͔̣͍͇̭̳̯̩͚͖̫̣̲̠̻͇͖̱̱̯̹͉̜͍͍̱̮̥̲̣̮͉̖̬̖͓̪̜̻̦͓͖̹̩̩̫͙̰̠̞͙̥̺̘̖͚͕̳̪̣͎̥̻̣̬̬͉͔̺̠͚͕̩͎͈̣̭̟̤̟̹͐̒͐̿̌͋̈́̒̽̆̃͒́̑̂̐͛̀̍͐͆͂̐́̀͆̃̌̂̔͋̍̂̏̂̑̄̔͐͗̆̆̂̓̑̀̄̉͗́͌̀̇̓̏́͊͑̈́̂̐̍̉̀̓͌̆̃̾̏̌̀́̾̐̀̀́́͊̂͌̊̏̈̿͋̄̌̈́̒̓́͌͂̈́͋͋̐͛̎̉̓͆͐̄̈́̐͌̎́̓̉͆̅̀̾͒̎̿̿̐̾̿̊͋̒͗͗͌̾̐̈̽̅͋͋̒̀͌̈͂̊̃̐̿͐̊̉̔̇͑͑̏̊̓͊̓̈́̋̔̅̈́̔̀̎̀̃̀͑̃̀̈̔̄͒̏̒͋̑̿̒̄̕͘̚̕͘̚͘̚͘̚̕̕͘̕̕͜͜͜͜͠͠͝͠͠͝͝͠͝͠͠͝͠͝͠ͅͅļ̷̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̛̥̪͖͖̘̣̳͉̼̖̯̰̗̩͉̰̳͙͓̙̳̰̯̦͕̥̪̝̖̤̠̲͈̳̺̺̝͙̪͐͆̓̃̐̀̒̓̈́̿͐͂̒̋̃̄͛͌̊̇̀͐͊͒͛̊͋̅̾̓̐̇̀͗̀̔̈́͆̾̆̉̓̈́͌͛̔̐͋̀͒̂̆̑̋̑͒͊̈́͑̓͆̎̀̐͌͊̃̓̾͊̊͊̾͐͗͛̄̑́̓̍͛͒̈̈́̊̓̀͐́͆̌̉̀́̈̃̂̓̈́̓̑͂̉̿̈͗̋̋̋̈̋͒́̀͐́͆̿͌̍̍̏̎̆̒͑̒͂̆̈͂̐̎͂̈́̋̀͑̄̐̀̈̏̔̓͛͗̓̃̓̈́̅͐̆̂̌̈͂̃̅̑̔́̅̅̈̌̿̃͌̒̈̈̀̓͑̍͗͂͗̈́̀͌̊͌͊̓́̂̌̈́̓͐̔̏̊̐̂͐̃̿̅̄͗͒͌̈́̈́̌̈́̓͛̍̈́̄̈͐̒́̅̿̇̔̈́̎̒̉̓̾̅̽͘̚͘̕͘͘̚̕̚͘͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͠͠͠͝͠͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅ.̴̨̢̧͍̦̦̰̱͎̪̟̜͖̬̪͕̫̖̘̯̺̟̰̙̩̫̟̹̥̹̹̘͍͚͕͓͕̝̪͈̭̩̪̜̦̹͖͈̫̼̞̱̖͖͔͔̘̮̤͖̘̳̭̈́̆̂͌̈͑̇̍͊̈́́̈͒̒̀̉̌̀̎̓̅͐̑̃̉́́̅̊͗̅̏̂̍̆͒̎́͐́̄̔̂̂́̄̀̄͊̒̓͗͗͐̇̽̓́̀̌̎͋́͗͊͆̈͑̉̅̏͌͋̂̓̎̏̊͆͒̚̚̕͘͘͘̚͜͜͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅ"̷̧̢̨̨̨̢̢̛̛̛̥̳̙̟̮̣̳̪͍̣̪̲̬̹̼̘͎̬̻̩̯̝̞͙̟͈͔̮̥͚͖̪̦̳̩̖͔̲̞͖̮̞̥̥̝̱͚̫͇̜̻̩̪͇̟̞̞̹̦̤͕̱̙̰͆̉́̅̓̌̽̏̓̈́̍̒͆̈̐̈́͌́͆͋̒̍̎̇̏̈͆͂̌̀͋̃̀͒̈̅̓̅̉̓͑̒̈́͗̀̂́̎͘̕̕̕͘͝͠͝͝͠ͅ**_

I knew only darkness once again.

* * *

Amber eyes snapped open, body lurching forward as a fist swung. The knuckles whistled through the air, momentum bleeding dry as the reality of the lack of immediate danger sank in. A few harsh breaths escaped me, chest heaving as adrenaline coursed through my veins. Until, with a tired sigh, my eyes drifted shut.

"_Fuck_..." The gravel let out an unsatisfied sound as I struck it, though it did hurt my hand like a bitch.

My eyes widened at that. My arm was… still horribly deformed I guess. But it looked once again like a real arm instead of the bloody oozing mess I left it as when I fell unconscious.

Fingers flexed back and forth, even as I cradled it against my chest, rubbing the weird fifteen inches scar. The phantom pain of the skin damage still lingered, along with the vile taste of ash, smoke and charred skin. But I could rationalize it as merely that, a phantom pain and nothing more.

Gazing at it, I was fascinated at the obvious contrast between the original skin surrounding it and the smooth, lumpy and hideous patchwork I was left with. It couldn't have scarred that quickly, and I doubt the… thing… I met in my dreams would be courteous enough to patch me up.

I looked up at the sky and saw the sun not so high up the sky, probably at an angle of around 60°. If I remembered the island's layout, it was coming from the east.

It was morning, and at least a night had passed with me out for the count.

My eyes grew wide at that realization, prompting me to scramble to my feet, desperately searching for Eole.

A near-panic attack later, I spotted his peacefully sleeping form a short distance farther, under the shade of a particularly large boulder.

Quickly putting two and two together, I assumed the little angel was the reason for my miraculous healing. I believe I remembered a togepi could know the move wish straight out of the egg in the games.

Another sigh, this one filled with a fresh exhaustion as I got myself out of the sun's unstoppable rays. Hot and suffocating, they reminded me of the flames. I guess it's easier to just forget, accept that I had messed up and move on. Lingering thoughts straying of the… of _it_ violating my dreams… of what could have happened? No, that way led madness, self condemnation and possible insanity.

Yup, I'm done with this shit. What I needed right now was a good night's sleep on a full stomach. It seemed my providential recovery had tapped into my food reserves, further accelerating my eventual death if the violent groaning of my stomach was anything to go by.

My eyes drifted up to the thick column of smoke still reigning on the blue shades of the sky with its gray tones of death and misery.

Meh, at least it makes for one hell of an S.O.S signal, right?

Right.

…

I've really fucked up haven't I?

* * *

Fire is… I guess contradictory is the word I'm looking for.

Looking at the warmth inducing heart single-handedly keeping the biting cold of the night from reaching me, it was hard to believe it could be capable of the destruction I had witnessed yesterday.

Repressing a sigh, I instead chose to let my eyes float to much happier sights. Eole had slept for the remainder of the day, until sundown where he woke up, devoured two energy bars and drifted back to slumber in under two minutes.

I honestly couldn't find it in myself to give a damn anymore and so I ate the Snickers knockoff and the remaining energy bar. I was just that hungry.

This time I sighed, I was truly deep in it. The idea that the following years could have been the most fulfilling parts of my life was getting further and further out of reach, for each breath I took frankly felt like a knife was being wiggled into my ribcage. A knife I had stuck in myself for no apparent reason.

Looking at the last wisps of ash and smoke still dancing with the night breeze, I was so very tempted to just… I don't know just curl into a ball and weep like a total wuss.

I don't even remember what I did this shit for. Was it a call for help? A desperate attempt at evading my suffering from starvation? Impulsiveness?

No. I knew exactly why. I wanted to get the attention of whomever the fuck put me in this Ash-bag and tell him I always would have more control over my life than he could ever have over me.

And getting his attention I did, I guess. Hoping for him being a bit more laid back, like the Random Omnipotent Beings I read about in fanfiction was obviously too optimistic.

Another sigh. Knees went up to my chin, head tucked between them. I tried to focus on the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks lining the sandy shore, hoping it would help distracting me from every little noise I heard that made me automatically think it was some kind of malevolent ghost pokemon or something. I wouldn't put it past this world to make me feel something even deeper than the despair already suffocating my soul.

It was really eery, not hearing any signs of wildlife, be it marine or otherwise. I always heard about sailors basically living with the clicking sounds of shrimps, barnacles and such. Marine organisms are noisy creatures, supposedly. That's why some of them have names like "Drum" and "Croakers". Once again, ostensibly the signs of a healthy marine environment.

Yet, the only thing I ever heard was the not so soothing – it's freaking loud – back and forth of the waves. At this point, I would quite readily give an arm – the ruined one, obviously – for a recording of the background noise of a computer running. Sue me for feeling lonely and bored in the dead of the night without feeling sleepy.

Hmm… The big-ass CRT monitors and noisy hard disks and fans buzzing and humming inside the 90s' old IBM of my grand-parents. You don't know true struggle until you've spent a month of your summer vacation on it, with only a modem providing you with the data to watch Detective Conan on streaming sites. All that _way_ before Adblock was a viable thing.

Closing my eyes and letting my head rest on my forearms, I could hear the whirring so very clearly in my head. It was…

Huh, it sounds so real. In fact, I could swear it came from somewhere down the cliff. Carefully getting up from my miserable position on the darkened tree stump, I crouched low to the ground and made my way to the precipice, intending to get a full view of whatever was happening underneath.

My eyes felt like they would bulge out of their sockets. A small motorboat was making its way to the island. Tracing back its path, I nearly missed a giant ship. Well, figuratively at least. I wasn't an expert in anything nautical but I could guesstimate the ship was around a third of the size of the truly gargantuan cruising ones I had seen before. It was still pretty darn massive.

It was also painted in matte black, which explained why I didn't see it the first time.

It was also the only reason I had not yet began shouting at the top of my lungs or rushing to meet with the ones that were now moored onto the beach.

There were two reasons why you would consider painting a boat in matte black. Either you wanted to look class and perhaps absorbing more heat. Or the second option, and the most probable in this case, you didn't want to be seen.

And considering how freakingly expensive it was to waterproof paint an entire boat in matte black, the owner obviously didn't have to worry about the price. An owner that couldn't possibly be any kind of governmental organization. An owner probably neck deep in some kind of criminal activity involving these guys.

Fuck's sake, those are Team Rocket grunts aren't they? Yup, the ones on the motorboat even have their uniforms on with the fluorescent red R on the chest.

I sighed. Then a smile blossomed on my face, I didn't know if it was relief, joy, excitement or whatever. But this at the very least proved this was real. It may have been difficult, but at last, a chance to get out of this shit-hole presented itself.

My grin attained shit-eating proportions as half-assed plans after half-assed plans began forming inside my shrewd mind. I doubted I could stow away in it for the whole duration of the trip without getting caught. Who knew, the ship wasn't exactly inconspicuous, maybe they never even docked it, instead getting provisions and such from dedicated suppliers. Like aircraft carriers did or something.

No, I couldn't risk anymore waiting. My patience had reached its limit and went even beyond that. And I didn't have a lot of it in stock to begin with. I mean we're in an anime, with real persons and real dangers, yes. But still an anime. One that told or would tell of _my_ story. And I didn't want my story to be boring.

A random and sudden spark of madness induced inspiration ignited an idea. And what a wonderful idea it was.

This time, I couldn't contain the demented laugh that split my face in two and bubbled out of my lips. Yeah… This one would do…

But first, I needed to erase any trace of my presence. Here's to hoping they would think the smoke coming from here was only residual from the crazy bonfire of earlier.

* * *

Archer Sholz was irritated. Watching the squad of nameless grunts arriving back from scouting the destroyed island empty-handed.

Sometimes, if you wanted a job done properly – you just had to do it yourself.

Those were the words he used to comfort himself. A reminder as to why he's chosen to submit to such mindless tedium. Not to mention the vast inconvenience. There were alliances to be forged, plans and schemes to be drafted, mulled over… and ultimately discarded.

There was work to be done, individuals to be monitored – others to be removed. The world shifted, as it was wont to do, and yet he was trapped at the one location where he couldn't affect any of it.

The _Big Bertha._

Oh how he _loathed _Petrel for choosing as childish and asinine a name for such a wonderful marvel of technology and engineering. Yet for all his faults, even Archer could acknowledge the man's genius. The brigantine was definitely unlike any other boat or ship of any kind he had laid feet on.

A perfect tool for accomplishing his assignment. An assignment delivered by Mr. Giovanni himself. For all the grumbling and complaining he was getting done, he knew refusal to comply or failure was out of the question. He was in charge after all.

He thought his skills could have been much better managed in any other place, though. But the more he thought about it, the more it became clear he was the only available and reliable candidate for the post.

Arianna had her hands full with infiltrating the Sylph Company, Petrel was still coped up inside his lab, doing who knows what demented research for Mr. Giovanni. And Proton was simply too sadistic and inexperienced to manage a crew of this size for a full year. Yes. Mr Giovanni had indeed chosen right, as hard as it must have been to give up as valuable an asset as he was.

Sighing, he passed a hand through his now humid and sticky hair. Tsk. He really hated this place. But going back to his quarters without hearing the scouts' reports wasn't an option.

Making his way down the set of stairs leading to the main deck, he straightened his posture, joined his hands behind his back and set on his face the cold and soul-searching look that came to him so naturally.

Fixing the supposed leader of the group with a flat stare, he enjoyed watching him squirm for a moment until the harsh training he had drilled into them for the past 6 months made him snap back into a salute.

"Executive Archer, sir!" the grunt began. "Private Wynne reporting back from reconnaissance!"

"And _what_, do you have to report, Private?" He asked softly, in his habitual near whisper.

A bead of sweat snaked its way down the grunt's face. "Some parts are still alight which proved to be unsafe for investigation. But the burning down of the island seems to have been the result of natural causes, sir! Private Lunsford here has a theory he'd like to present you, Executive sir!"

Acceptable, he thought, turning to look inquisitively at the one Wynne had thrown under the bus.

"Executive Archer, sir!" He said after sending what he thought was a subtle glare to his purported comrade. "I have here with me the forecast predictions from the logistics squad."

Lunsford then handed out a folder containing a series of graphs and tables he'd make sure to gloss over later in the evening.

"The intelligence squad reported four days ago an unusual wave of dry heat coming further south-east from the Resort Desert in Unova. The logistics squad theorized it might have caused a series of dry thunderstorms around this part of the sea, as has been observed further east in Fuschia and south in Cinnabar."

Deciding to let the lack of proper address slide, he instead nodded to the near mortified bunch of grunts before him and wordlessly climbed back the previous flight of stairs.

Making his way to his chambers, he mulled over this last sudden development. Yes, a thunderstorm might have explained a lot. But that was the problem, wasn't it? It was _too_ convenient.

Leaving the unexplained dry wind coming from Unova, this was a _rainforest. _And if he ever learned anything from his numerous years under Mr. Giovanni as a gym trainer and later as a personal assistant and executive of Team Rocket, it was that there was always, _always _something to be found underneath _everything_.

Still lost in thought, he idly noticed the door to his office opening without having to unlock it with the key he had the only copy of. Maybe he had forgotten to lock it earlier. It wouldn't do to be this careless halfway through his assignment after all the work he had put in on it.

Absently toying with the cuffs of his vest, intending to get into his sleeping attire, he jumped in fright at the sound of an expectant coming from his desk.

Hastily glancing at its direction, he was met with the sight of a child, perhaps a mere fourteen years old. Feet on top of the painstakingly polished mahogany wood, utterly soiling it with filthy shoes.

Same with his glorious black leather reclining seat, the white button-down shirt of the son of a whore wasn't stopping in any way the smearing of blood and grime accumulated on it.

Glaring hatefully at the eyes of the current bane of his existence, he was met with a crazed amber gaze, accompanied with the most demented smile he had seen in anyone not named Petrel.

"Heya Archie," his gratingly coarse voice conveyed such amusement and mirth it was disconcerting. "Uncle Giovanni sends you his highest regards."

* * *

**Author Note :**

**Hey, yeah sorry I know the big ass fire thing was a bit farfetch'd, knowing that it was in a tropical environment and all, but it was kinda fitting, you'll have to admit.**

**So no flames, please? Yes those were puns and no I don't regret them.^^**

**Shout-out to BerserkSpectre, the g helping me get motivated enough to write the potential absolute masterpiece you're currently reading. He's also publishing an excellent Pokemon Self Insert titled The Traveller. Bro, you're an inspiration.**

**Aight, someone asked me about how Latias and Latios going at it would result in a Togepi. Well, it was just a fan-made theory that always stuck with me. And well, this is fanfiction, it's literally in the definition of it to take some liberties here and there c;**

**Another concern I've encountered was about the overall 'dark' atmosphere of the first chapter. **

**I would like to reassure some of you, that it was by no means an attempt at angst or something like that. I personally **_**loathe**_** that tag. I tried to convey it through some of the SI's – and mine as well, by extension – inner thoughts.**

**Again, I regret absolutely nothing. All fanfiction is about wish fulfillment. I mean, if it wasn't, maybe y'all should consider writing an original novel. We're merely borrowing some of the universes that have made us fall in love with fiction.**

**And so it is with those magnificent words of wisdom that I'm getting outta here, leaving behind an unofficial apology for taking so long to update ;p. This chapter was so fucking hard to write, not gonna lie. I'm hoping the interactions next to come will help to make the story more… lively, I guess.**

**Uploaded on: 07/02/2019**


	3. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

**A/N: Here we go!**

* * *

**Beta: **BerserkSpectre

**Chapter 3 – **A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

* * *

"_Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." - Oscar Wilde_

* * *

There was a strange sense of calmness that came with the realization that things couldn't possibly get any worse. The fear that you have in a bad situation, where you stress over the next thing that could degrade your situation further was no longer present.

Instead, there was naught but an empty sense of reasoning that only existed as a means of problem solving. It was the human brain's natural method of shutting out all outside distractions, enabling you to come up with a way to change your fortunes.

Your decision making is more rational, fueled less by the fear of loss, or the paranoia of the worst case scenario.

Your actions are more certain. Quicker, cleaner, sure and to the point. There is no second-guessing. What is there to second-guess? Things are already as bad as they were going to get, given the state you're in.

Aaaand scene…

Yeah, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Imagine yourself wearing one of your childhood heroes' body as a flesh suit, bloodied and beaten like you just came back from the seventh circle of Dante's hell and facing who would effectively be the equivalent of an ISIS branch leader _and_ with nothing to defend yourself if push came to shove.

Still, the experience accumulated from years of broken vases, unfinished homework, and a particular knack for diverting attention from myself was working overtime to prevent me from showing the reaction I might have otherwise.

Seeing him in person and not through the screen of my DS running Pokemon Soulsilver, I could readily admit that Archer looked every bit of the evil motherfucker he was supposed to be in the game – minus the glaring incompetence, but well it was a game.

So, I allowed myself a moment to collect my wits and remembered the conversation I had heard from the group of grunts bitching on the deck, when I finally climbed the rope ladder in the back.

* * *

_With a final grunt, the hardest pull-up I had managed in both my lives combined to date was accomplished. I was exhausted and dripping with twice my weight in water. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to climb a rope ladder at an angle._

_Taking a moment to regain my breath, I just sat there, behind one of the lifeboats. Then a couple of laughing voices reached my ears._

"… _-look like something's on your mind." Let's call this one Jerry._

"_Nope, nothing. I'm fine." He will be George._

"_So that's your poker face?" said Jerry._

"_My regular face..."_

"_No it isn't, I've seen your regular face, that is _not_ it. Come on what you've got?"_

"_I got nothing."_

"_What you got? A pair of bullets? Two pair, three of a kind?"_

"_Will you stop it?"_

"_A full house, you've got a full house… Turn them over George, I want to see 'em, come on I'm calling," a knock on wood, "what you've got?"_

"_Gary Fogel _never _had cancer!"_ _George shouted at the top of his lungs, making me jump in fright and knock my head on something hard._

"_What was that?!"_

_I froze, eyes going wide as saucers as I struggled to control my still rapidly beating heart. Some shuffling around and a table or a chair being pushed was heard._

"_Bro, come on it's prolly only a Rattata we missed earlier. Now, thank the Creator our shift's over and put your ass back on that crate."_

_A sigh. "Alright, I guess I'm just still on edge. My Zubat is still unconscious from one of those fuckers biting her ear off."_

"_Yeah, I get you fam. It's bad enough we didn't have any phone or TV access for the past six months. I lost an Abo to a herd of those damn things."_

"_A mischief."_

"_What?"_

"_A mischief. A group of Rattatas is called a mischief."_

"_You're kidding..."_

"_No, I swear I remember it from when Gaston was… well you know, before he died."_

"… _Yeah, what a nerd he was..."_

"…"

"_God damn it, I wish I was sent on recon with Wynne and the others, don't you?"_

"_Hah! You can't be serious. They'll have to report back to the Executive when they're done. Nobody wants that."_

"_Yeah, I guess you're right. Heh..."_

"_Hey, look they're back!"_

"_Alright," the unmistakable sound of joints popping __traveled to my ears,__ "Jerry needs his beauty sleep. You do whatever you want but I'm already in Cresselia's hands." _

"_G'night, man. I think I'll stick around to hear what they've got to report, though."_

* * *

I still couldn't believe I had gotten Jerry's name right.

Focusing back on the guy still fiddling with his fancy vest, I finally gained his attention with a cough, making him jump and glare in my direction. I had no illusions of being James Bond or anything, but then again I didn't have to be that good. I only needed to be good enough.

I then channeled my inner Anthony Perkins into the most demented smile I could muster.

"Heya Archie," I joined my hands behind my head, projecting an image of confidence. "Uncle Giovanni sends you his highest regards."

The scary man in front of me didn't say anything, merely peering at me with what might have passed as disinterest or nonchalance if I didn't know where to look for traces of tenseness. I would know after all, I was trying to suppress them as well. Luckily for me, it looked like I did it better because he was the first to crack.

"Who are you and what are you doing in here?"

"I think you know exactly who I am and how I got here," was my lightning quick reply.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you might be on about."

"Yeah, well neither do I. Yet, here am I. What are you going to do about it?" I feigned picking at my nails. Ugh they really were nasty. "I doubt Uncle Giovanni would appreciate you maiming me or anything like that." I think it was the first time he registered I was aware of his boss' identity.

"How dare you speak _his_ name!" The fury and adoration in his voice were frankly disturbing. "Do you have any clue what you've stumbled upon, boy?!"

"Oh?" I got my feet out of the desk and got up, dusting my clothes off of crusted blood and grime. Yeah, he was enraged, alright. I then strolled toward the small coffee table, walking around it as if it were _me_ in charge of the situation and not him. "Well, you've got me. What comes next? Hoping I'll somehow tell you all my life story? That I shall cower and beg for indulgence?"

I spread my arms, the tatters of my right sleeve flapping around. Then I sighed dramatically and deflated. "Actually, I'd be ready to go down on my knees if it meant you had a steak lying around somewhere."

"You-"

"Please," I scoffed. "Do you _genuinely_ believe anybody could know the exact location of the Big Bertha-" a snicker escaped my mouth- "even though it's been sailing for six months without docking, if they weren't already in on the jig. By the way, those security checks are utterly pathetic. It's one of the reasons I was sent here."

"Mr. Giovanni didn't mention anything to me." He was beginning to lose it, I could tell.

"Well, maybe he didn't see fit to do so, huh?" I chortled.

All this time, I kept wandering around the room, not once looking him in the eye. Both for dramatic effect and because I didn't want to risk him discerning the fear in them. Then, I came to a stop before a porthole and looked out of it, over the not so innocent grunts playing cards on the deck.

Wanting to get this over with, I abruptly turned on my heels and resolutely made my way towards Archer until I halted mere inches from his nose. Crazy would always be scarier than intimidating and I was going for broke now.

"I could have capsized this boat if I wanted," my voice was naught but a mere whisper against his neck, my gaze struggling to hold his when he towered over me by maybe a foot or so. "Look me in the eye and fucking call me out on that."

For maybe a full minute – I couldn't tell but it felt like hours - I looked at him, he looked at me.

I looked at him.

He looked at me. Then came the rapid fire.

"Who sent you here?"

"I already told you."

"I wish to hear it again."

"Uncle Giovanni, Gym Leader of Viridian City and boss of Team Rocket, _your _boss." I didn't know his last name. Playing it safe.

"How did you get here?"

"You don't need to know that."

"Who are you?"

"You don't need to know that."

"…I would still appreciate the courtesy."

I mulled it over while he greeted his teeth. I couldn't call myself Ash, and I really wanted to change name after this whole ordeal would be over.

"Uhuh," I nodded derisively. "I guess you can call me Ares."

A minute passed with him scrutinizing me in detail while I just balanced myself back and forth on the soles and balls of my ruined sneakers. I couldn't believe it was working.

"You still haven't told me what you're here for."

"You don't need to know that either."

"I would… still appreciate the courtesy…"

"My uncle decided a small adjustment was needed to best accomplish your mission. And as you no doubt are aware of, you have been ordered to radio silence for the duration of the assignment. So here I am."

That was the biggest risk I had taken yet, if it wasn't only the grunts who didn't have means of communication and he ended up having a contingency of some sort, I would be toast.

He looked at me.

I looked at him.

"Give me one good reason to believe any of the nonsense you've been spewing out of your mouth till now."

"You already do believe everything I've said, though. And even if you didn't, you couldn't do shit about it. My uncle gave me full freedom to make you follow my orders if I encountered any type of resistance." I was so very tempted to lightly slap his cheek, but I settled for simply walking past him, careful not to so much as brush my shoulder with his lest he considers it an offense.

"I want this ship headed straight for Cinnabar by the morning," I said as I opened the door.

"Wait! We still need to talk-"

"No we don't. _You _need to do as _I_ say, because _I _do as my uncle says." I interrupted him. "I'll find you when your counsel ends up being necessary. Don't think I won't be watching."

I then closed the door.

…

Oh fuck, I didn't think this through. I can't come back in and ask for a bed and food, can I?

A silent groan escaped my mouth and I resolved myself to rough-housing it one last night. I really needed to get my wounds checked up on, though. But fuck if I imagined myself strolling through the ship without the grunts calling me out on my presence at any moment to be a good idea.

Fooling one person overly careful and taught not to underestimate anyone was one thing. Trusting idiots to not do so was another.

I sighed. At least, the lifeboat I hid Eole's pokeball in looked comfortable enough.

* * *

It wasn't comfortable. At. All. Were my first thoughts upon waking up from my very short slumber.

Getting up, I could feel the overwhelming majority of my bones popping back in place. But not in the satisfying way it felt when you usually stretched in the morning.

Feeling a painful throbbing in my head I brought a hand up to my forehead and swiped at a heavy sheen of sweat. Fuck, I'm no med graduate but I could recognize the symptoms of an infection.

I sighed, hoping it wasn't anything too drastic like one of those bizarre tropical infectious diseases tourists end up contracting when they come back from south-american countries or whatever.

…

Alright, time to get up. Securing Eole's pokeball inside one of the lifeboat's ration bags, I put everything back the way they were before and meticulously draped the tent cloth over everything, tying it down with the knots on the side I'd used to slip inside last night.

Inspecting my work one last time, I nodded and gave myself a thumbs up before slapping my cheeks to ward off the killing headache I was developing.

It didn't work.

Sneakily inspecting the path to the top most deck overlooking the rest of the ship, I hastily made my way to it before anyone spied a beaten up kid playing Nin-nin while they worked.

Once I was finally on top, I noticed the torrent of activity on the after-deck. Team Rocket grunts were working as efficiently as ants down below, and wasn't that a surprise. Looks like good ol' Archie was doing his job alright.

The blue haired man's tall and intimidating form was easily distinguishable from here. He did cut quite the menacing figure I had to admit.

Discerning a group of two grunts discreetly detaching themselves from the main mass of workers, I decided to follow them and see what it was all about.

"Arceus be witness, I'm thiiis close to collapsing," he said while making the universal sign for small things. "and all that for what?! Jerry, we're fucking giving up on the mission! What on earth is this all about?!"

Oh, yeah these were the two I 'inadvertently' eavesdropped on last night. Jerry just shrugged and brought a lighter to his mouth, apparently shielding a cigarette from the no doubt humid sea-breeze.

Having taken a puff of his recently rolled joint, he exhaled with a sigh of what sounded to me like pure bliss. "Fuuuuck, I don't know about you but I'm pretty cool with it," he said, inhaling another drag of his butt. "This was the last blunt I could roll, my stash is empty and I'd sooner die before trying one of those cheap ass monstrosities they keep bringing in again. I don't care what they tell me, there isn't an _ounce_ of the good stuff in there."

George - if I remember right sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It'd be so fucking good to get out of this damn boat, though. The pay is good, but it's fucking hard work. We've been up since 6 a.m for the Creator's sake. It's… 10 p.m now! What the fuck!?"

Jeff hummed and nodded absently, probably already stoned beyond comprehension.

I snorted, they were funny. And I had to admit they could rock that grunt outfit. So I tried not to look down at my own tattered clothes lest I be met with the appearance and smell of an acid-selling hobo on his third day of Woodstock.

From the sun's position and the time George gave me, I assumed we were heading west or maybe south-west.

Yeah, I didn't want to push it too much. I mean, I could order Archer to bring me something to wear but he could also end up inquiring as to why I wouldn't ask it of the grunts myself. No, I had to stick with the crazy ninja assassin act for now.

Alright. Making my way to sneak up on Archer, I reviewed how this conversation would go. Cool, I think I get it. Smile for the camera.

"Heya Archie!" I began cheerfully, refraining from putting an arm on his shoulder. "I see we're heading west."

He didn't say anything, not even acknowledging my presence. Well at least, it didn't look like he had seen through my charade.

"We're about two hundred miles from Cinnabar," he quietly said after a moment. "With the lack of… information provided, I've seen fit to assume we were to inconspicuously moor by night-time. Mr Giovanni would no doubt prefer to avoid bringing further attention to his plans."

Fuck. That's not exactly what I expected but it's possible to plan around it. I still didn't know if I wanted nothing more than a ride or if I would risk narcing them to the police.

Quickly getting back into the persona, I took my most snobby and haughty voice. "Hmm. Indeed, this is a most pleasing outcome to my royal ears, good sir." I said, chest risen high and eyes closed in a facsimile of his own speech.

A side glance to my right revealed a countenance carefully concealing all the murderous thoughts he was having about me. God only knows how funny it was.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm dropping a surprise test on your ass today. And my own royal butt longs for that wonderful leather seat of yours." Not waiting for his reaction, I made my way to where I remembered his office was, nearly sagging in relief once I heard his steps behind me.

Arriving to his door, I gestured for him to open it.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "You're not going to lock pick the door this time."

I did my best to keep a poker-face. He thought I had lock picked my way inside. This is priceless, I had just found the door unlocked at the time. Still, it was another occasion to make him think I was something I was not.

I smiled the most disarmingly I could. "I doubt you'd… appreciate the courtesy."

A flash of recognition glinted in his eyes and I knew I had scored. He simply tsked and opened the door on his own, letting himself in without further preamble.

Going in myself, I was hit with the strong smell of bleach and disinfectant.

"Wow," I whistled. "Hypochondriac much?"

Giving me the stink eye, he purposefully and deliberately sat down on his recliner. Acknowledging his claim with an amused nod, I strode to the coffee table and grabbed one of the armchairs.

Making eye contact with the blue-haired man, I nonchalantly dragged it on the no doubt expensive hardwood floor until I was facing him. I could tell he was growing more than irritated, perhaps marking a nine out of ten on the miffed scale.

Plopping down on the comfortable satin cushion of the chair, I pulled an ankle on my knee and linked my hands on my lap.

"Executive Archer Sholz…" I began, "that's a pretty fancy title, don't you think?"

He said nothing.

"Yeah, I get you. Everybody would prefer a few more accolades besides their name. Though, I'm sure you'll agree with me that 'Executive' with nothing before and nothing after does have a certain charm. Sobriety. Elegance. Refinement. Sophistication. All qualities you no doubt strive to adhere to, yes?"

"This is a serious mission. The future of Team Rocket and Mr. Giovanni's plans are on the line here. What did you need me for?"

I mulled it over for a moment and switched legs, hoping against all hope that the salt hadn't damaged my jeans beyond the few nicks and scratches already present.

"You're right," I sobered up and adopted an uncharacteristic – until now – frown. "I apologize for not taking all of this more seriously but I experienced quite the ordeal on my way here. In fact, I was delayed by at least 24 hours. And I never. _E__ver__._ Disappoint my uncle."

The scowl on his face seemed to diminish at what he perceived to be true loyalty to his boss. "I… wish to apologize as well. My conduct could have been more… amiable, in the face of your no doubt eventful travel."

Not really feigning the thousand miles stare creeping up my face, I sorrowfully shook my head. "Eventful indeed… However I am here for a reason, Archer."

Getting up from my seat, I began to pace around the room. "For you see, my uncle tasked me with an assignment of the utmost importance. I am to secure someone, more specifically a scientist specializing in genetic alteration, who is currently employed by a private research facility in Cinnabar."

Turning back to face him, I peered at him with the most intensity I was able to muster. "This is an integral part of my uncle's plans and is directly related to the betterment of Team Rocket. Once I come back, with the individual in question secured under hypnosis_, _we are to resume the plan and make arrangements for our… guest… to be extracted by one of our assets I will have contacted while in Cinnabar."

He said nothing for a moment, as was custom from him, probably taking in all of the new information. "I wouldn't dare doubt Mr. Giovanni's leadership, but are you truly confident in your capacity to procure the _asset _in question without alerting the authorities? I am told the security measures around the CLRD are quite adequate."

CLRD? Like, what? Cinnabar Laboratory of Research and Development? Meh, doesn't matter anyway.

The smile that blossomed on my face could only be described as predatory. "Don't worry, Archie. You wouldn't believe it but my Gyarados managed to take down six of his kind before going down himself. I know how to train pokemons."

He looked at me.

I looked at him.

"Fine, I shall have faith in your ability. Or at the very least, in Mr. Giovanni's leadership." He said, acknowledging all the bullshit I was spewing as gospel.

"Good," I clapped my hands, trying not to sound too eager. "Now, why don't you tell me how the plan's coming along. We've still got all day before I have to go."

He eyed me suspiciously for a second and carefully chose his words. "I'd have to know what you're already aware of, Ares."

Trying not to show any discomfort at his first real sign of suspicion, I reigned in on any uncertainty plaguing my thoughts and did what I did best.

"Eh," I tossed my hand to the side nonchalantly, "You know how the boss is with his compartmentalization and whatnot. I only knew the bare minimum about you and your mission before being assigned here. I was expected to learn of any relevant details once I met up with you. And I'm gonna be hanging around here for a while."

I could tell he was still wary, but he seemed less so than before my pretty shitty explanation.

"Quite," he said, procuring a bucket, a fancy bottle of a clear amber liquid and two equally fancy rocks glasses from under his desk. "I am going to assume you've had the minimum expected debrief from Mr. Giovanni if he does indeed trust you, as you so claim."

He then proceeded to fill about a quarter of the two glasses with what I assumed was bourbon, added two ice cubes for each and handed me one. I accepted it with a smile and mimed taking a sip, only letting my lips meet the rim of the glass and made a light slurping noise, confirming it was actually alcohol. I also made sure to cover the front of the glass with my fingers.

I watched him do the same across from me, but the alcohol level visibly lowered, indicating he had indeed sipped a good chunk of it.

"I'm surprised to see you already are accustomed to Mr. Giovanni's peculiar tastes." He said with a raised eyebrow.

Confused at first at what he was insinuating, comprehension dawned on me after a few seconds. "Oh… yes. I've had quite a few… entertaining evenings with my uncle. Also had a taste of his preferred brew once, and let me tell you the aftermath wasn't pretty." I switched legs once again. "Though I'll admit I never quite acquired the taste for any of his strongest beverages. In fact, I doubt I would be able to recognize the different… intricacies of my uncle's preferred drinks since I was rather inebriated at the time but I seem to distinctly remember him favoring wine instead of bourbon."

I had literally no idea what I was saying. I only knew the more time I'd keep questioning him, the less time he'd spend returning the favor.

Luckily for me, it looked like he was indeed testing me if the extra layer of guarded countenance he had lost was anything to go by. "It looks like you truly are who you claim to be, even though there still isn't much substance to go by."

"Cool," I happily added, finally relaxing. "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

* * *

I stared at my bare feet, each positioned a few inches to the right and left of the drain. A thin white line stretched across my right foot, a reminder that I had sustained much more injuries than I had originally thought.

Surprisingly, a lot of the wounds I had suffered during this hellish amercement wound up – Ha! Pun! – healing rather cleanly. Eole must have some serious talent with healing moves.

Though I hadn't much hope concerning any bacteria or viruses I had contracted, I could only hope it wasn't anything incurable or impeding in any way.

Dodging this line of thought and ignoring the pang of fear in my heart, I turned up the water's heat, resigning myself to forgetfulness. So I closed my eyes and faced the deluge.

God did it feel good. There was just something special about the water beating down on you. It certainly felt better than the numerous soaks I had earlier.

…

… Motherfucker. I bet Archer did it on purpose so that I wouldn't have more than five minutes of hot water.

Earlier, throughout his long and thorough tirade, I just kept silent, nodding and humming at all the appropriate moments. And God was it a detailed retelling. The guy kept waxing and waxing lyrical about every little logistic detail or whatever when I only wanted to know of the broad strokes, so to say.

But that wasn't the worst part. No… That is to say, Archer _really_ respects Giovanni, it was bordering on obsession, actually. Believe me when I say you don't know true awkward until you've had to hear a man nearing his forties singing the virtues of a fellow midlife male slash evil crime boss and all the qualities he 'respected' and 'admired' in him.

Even worse! I had to fucking agree with him! Had to play the part of the starstruck nephew to indulge the crush fantasies of a middle aged man towards another.

Well, I thought as I relaxed under the now freezing cold stream of water of the shower Archer had accommodated me with, at least I had gotten some overall insight on their plan.

I was skeptical at first, when he finally disclosed their endgame. I mean, what on earth would necessitate them to stay at sea for one year?

Yeah, I know. One. Whole. Year.

It turned out to be quite sensible once he let me in on it. Much easier once I told him I was supposed to come back and stay stationed with them after my mission.

Alright. The plan!

The S.S Anne. The most expensive, the largest, the longest, the highest cruiser ever engineered in recorded history. The most gargantuan and costly construction project, naval or otherwise.

Its maiden voyage was scheduled for the 18th of September later this year. We were the 18th of March. Another shock to the system by the way – Ash and his mother had embarked into the boat of their demise the 1st of March, ergo more than two weeks ago. Somehow, nearly twenty days had passed since that day. I had no explanation, and frankly, I didn't want any.

Alrighty, back on track. The S.S Anne's maiden voyage was scheduled six months from now. And absolutely all of the upper echelons of society was invited to attend. Gym Leaders, Champions, influential trainers and coordinators, Big 30's C.E.O's, their children, their mothers and their uncles would all be there.

Yeah, I guess it isn't all that hard to guess where this is going. Team Rocket had the prime occasion for swooping in and literally annihilate any and all threat standing between them and world domination.

They had everything they needed. Reliable intel in the form of Arianna and the information she provided as direct secretary to Lilith Sylph – Sylph&Co's current chairwoman – a secret weapon Petrel was working on, undercover agents working at the naval construction site in Vermillion and in the Kanto Shipping Company…

Honestly, I was blown away by all the work they had put in on this. But the biggest and most intensive yet necessary task was burdened on Archer. The actual attack force.

You see, the League was no idiot. They wouldn't dare quite literally put all their eggs in the same basket without thorough security measures and contingencies. One of those was an embargo on all sea travel on the south-west side of Kanto for the six months preceding the inauguration.

I mean, I thought it overkill but they wouldn't do all of this without a reason. This was a much more dangerous world than my previous ones.

They didn't stop at this however. Intensive and scrupulous aerial searches would be conducted twice a day form the last month before that, anti-teleportation fields erected every hour of everyday three months before D-day and blah blah blah…

All that to say, they deemed it safer to launch the _Big Bertha_ much earlier than was strictly necessary to go on the safe side. The submerging option would be activated in due time – yes, it was also a submarine – with refueling and supplying in the form of monthly teleported crates of everything they would need.

I mean, I could see their masterplan succeeding, honestly.

Hah! At least, it would have been the case if the poor bastards didn't stumble upon me. I lowkey felt bad about ruining such fine and detailed planning.

I could have joined them or something but… well, I didn't really benefit much from it and I liked pokemons. The truly hot girls also weren't on the villain side for a change and I reaaaally wanted some street-cred around these parts as well. I'd say everyone would agree that preventing such a devastating terrorist attack would go a long way to gain me a few favors with the important people of this world.

Maybe it was selfish that my primary reason for wanting to stop them _wasn't_ that they could hurt or kill a lot of people, but that their plans would inevitably ruin the things I had hoped would eventually happen to me in this version of earth… but I didn't honestly care. I had come to realize that I _liked_ it here and I didn't _want _to go back to where I came from. Yes, everything I had endured, I had come to enjoy. It made me feel _alive,_ like I could defy literal gods and come out of it alive to tell the tale.

And I would soon doom everything alive to damnation if I didn't get to enjoy all that I could from what this world had to offer. I would sooner be damned myself, before letting anyone take it all away before I even had the chance to do what I wanted. And I wanted a lot of things.

Meh, I thought as I shut off the water when I finished rinsing the soap I'd lathered over myself, retrieving the towel near the sink and drying myself. I never called myself a nice guy. A decent one, sure. But certainly not nice.

I then slipped onto the clothes Archer had provided me with. A bit on the large side but I'd make do. It wasn't a terrible fit once I tucked the shirt inside the pants and rolled up the sleeves and pant legs. With the black pants that went with the outfit, it looked like I was dragged by my parents to a marriage or another social event of the sort.

Then… then came the moment I kept postponing for… reasons. I looked at my face, Ash's face, but mine now. I'd look like this for the rest of my life.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I pushed wet raven hair out of my eyes. Raven locks that would no doubt end up being shaggy after drying. At least bed head would virtually have no effect on me. On the other hand, just like my other life, no amount of combing or hair gel could change it from its fixed scraggliness.

A normal forehead, not too broad, not too small. A relatively small and snub nose, a bit upturned. I had no idea how you could describe mouths or lips but they were kinda wide. I'd really need to step up on the teeth-brushing if I ever wanted to have a nice smile. My complexion seemed to be around the dark side of the caucasian spectrum, not exactly light skinned but pretty sure I could get an n-word pass if the need ever arose. I also wouldn't be able to judge my eventual jawline or facial bone structure since this body –my body now – was still growing. The baby fat and the _actual _fat present around didn't help either to be honest. But that was manageable, I'm sure being more physically active would move things around. At the very least, none of those weird horizontal Harry Potter scars were present on my cheeks.

However, the eyes were what really threw me off. I remembered from the anime that Ash's eye color varied from dark brown to bright amber depending on the season or movie. Well, they were amber colored here and I was cool with that, it was distinctive enough and I always found it attractive in girls. Here's to hoping it worked the other way around.

No, what startled me was the eye on the right – left in the mirror. It was dark brown. The same shade as my own in my past life. I never really thought they were my best features but I couldn't exactly change anything about it, could I? Well, I wish I could now.

I always read about self inserts or other characters with mismatched eyes and how they were mesmerizing or whatever the fuck. Except that those were some pretty exotic colors like ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue, not fucking brown! Fuck that, I sincerely hoped it wasn't the case for the fairer sex, but I found it kinda repulsive.

The merge obviously wasn't perfect on the physical side. I mean, absolutely nothing good that I had cultivated in my past life followed me in here. None of my frankly excellent stamina, or relatively clear skin. I had sweated gallons and ruined shirts and shoes by the dozen for my endurance. I had shed manly tears of pain when my sister popped the blackheads on my face, trained my comebacks on motherfuckers who would joke about the pretty severe case of acne I had during that one year in middle school. For fuck's sake, the only thing they thought to give me back was an ugly-ass poop colored eye?!

Yeah, no. There ain't no love in this game. It don't love you back, I tell you.

Huffing and adjusting my hair one final time, I exited the bathroom. It was strange, walking down the hallway without shoes. It was also and odd thing to find…well…odd. But I genuinely couldn't remember the last time I had felt clean. And God did it feel nice.

I sighed. I didn't have time for this. Archer let me use his personal bathroom, that was frankly a masterclass from me. I still had no clue how I managed to bullshit as well as I thought I did. The only thing left now was to wait twenty more minutes – assuming I had spent fifteen minutes showering and coming down with that petty existential crisis – for the ship to moor on the south coast of Cinnabar, a few miles away from the beach, out of sight. Then, I'd take one of the motorboats available to go to the shore and – **snickers**, hear that – come back with the hostage I had invented.

Archer asked whether or not I'd need a motorboat and I expanded on something I had conveniently mentioned before. The dead gyarados of mine was the only means of travel I had taken with me. What else was there to do, huh?

Overall, I'd say I did pretty alright. In fact, I would even dare go as far as saying nobody could have done what I did. Now to make it through to the authorities without anything going haywire. Like, there were so many things that could go wrong. They said no plan survives contact with the enemy. What if there were no plans involved in this case? I was pretty much improvising better than Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy or Tina Fey ever could back in my world. Surely it wasn't too presumptuous to expect this to finish nicely for me.

Sighing, I ignored the foreboding twinge of worry in my chest and the abdominal cramps I was feeling for quite some time now. I then slipped on the pair of boat shoes I had been provided with. Didn't go all that well with the style, but it was practical. I would quite literally kill t never have to rough it out ever again with wet socks and shoes.

Brrr… I shuddered as the phantom sensation of squishiness invaded my feet again. I shall call it the feetrauma incident.

Making my way to where I remembered sleeping last night, I went and fished out the ration-box and… yup, Eole's pokeball was still here. I honestly don't think I would have been surprised to see it gone. Maybe a bad trope about that specific box being the weed stash of George or something.

I gripped it tightly for a minute and put it on my breast pocket, hoping it would not end up highlighting like a nipple or something. Now _that_ would be embarrassing.

…

No, I'm not ready. In movies and such, it's generally at this moment where something goes tits up if nothing did before. And I'm not ready for literally anything they would be able to throw at me. What was I going to do in case of a stand-down? Brandish Eole's pokeball threateningly and say there's a tyranitar inside? What if-

"Um- sir?" I heard a voice say from behind me, one I recognized. "Excuse me sir, but Executive Archer says the boat's ready."

Trying to play it nonchalantly, I raised my gaze to peer at the moon above. "Alright, George, you have my thanks," I turned on my heels and hit his gobsmacked form with the most disarming smile I could manage. "I'll try and bring you some hash with me," I winked and mimed a shushing motion. "Just keep it between us, alright? I wouldn't want to… _discipline _anyone asking me to smuggle shit on here."

Passing him by, I mused that being overestimated was literally the best thing on earth. I always heard it was better to be overestimated or underestimated rather than estimated correctly. And I'd tend to agree in case of the former. This was the most fun I had in days!

Finally arriving to the starboard side of the lower deck, I was greeted by a small platoon of grunts and Archer near the taffrail where I could see a pulley system of a sort had been set up. Looks like the grunts had been made aware of my presence.

Being fed up with all of the pomp and circumstances and assuming Archer would probably dig professionalism more, I stuck on my face the most baleful glare I had in stock and made to stand before Archer. I doubt I really needed more credibility, but just to be sure, I _looked_ at him.

"I don't remember requesting any type of circus monkey freak show, Archer," I began, "In fact, I seem to distinctly remember you waxing lyrical about stealth and discretion… Mayhaps I was mistaken in thinking you a professional?"

Taken aback by the chilliness in my voice, he took a second to regain his bearings and the glint of indignation in his eyes told me he was ready for a comeback. I wouldn't leave him the chance.

"I don't give a shit about what you thought would have been appropriate. Then again, maybe Uncle Giovanni wouldn't have sent you rotting out here if you actually managed to refrain from planting lips on ass like you seem to do at the slightest chance."

Turning to one of the grunts to my direct left, I pointed, "You, what the fuck is your name?"

The idiot blinked gormlessly. "Um- Sir, my name i-"

I made a show out of adjusting my cuffs and linked my hands behind my back, straightening my posture."Thanks for the play by play, captain fornicate but I don't give a flying damn about your name. How tall are you?"

"S-sir! I'm five foot nine, sir!" He stiffened and straightened his spine.

"Five foot nine, you say? I didn't know they stacked shit that high, Timmy. Would you perhaps have any insight on how they managed it?" I pointedly looked at him with nary a frown on my face.

"I- sir… I'm sorry, I don-"

"Shut the fuck up, I couldn't care less about the opinion of such a fucking fop of a man." I dismissed him with a wave of hand and I could spy from the corner of my eye his slouched form practically wrecking in silent sobs. Have I gone too far?

Finally getting back to the matter at hand, I once again faced Archer and _looked_ at him again. I could catch a mix of expressions on his face; confusion, exasperation and… is that amusement? Yeah I had pegged him right, he was a masochist through and through.

"Is that really what you deemed so pressing to show me? Well, I'm decidedly not impressed. Actually," I then swept my gaze to all of the present assembly, "expect a total overhaul of these troops' training before the end of the week. It seems discipline has been particularly… lax, without the proper impetus."

I then plastered a demented smirk on my face, got an empty blue colored pokeball I had scavenged around Archer's desk out of my right pocket and enlarged it. "And when I'm done with you, every single one of you shall have met and surpassed each and every one of my uncle's expectations of what a proper and proud member of Team Rocket should strive to be."

Letting the tension linger for a few beats through the air, I relaxed myself into a somewhat slouched position and rotated back to face the blue haired executive. He looked, dare I say it, impressed to say the least.

Then, moving until I was a mere foot away from him, I crossed my arms and _looked_ at him for what I hoped would be the last time. "I'll be back before dawn with our guest and a new set of instructions from my uncle."

I then stood on my tiptoes to murmur to his ear, making him take a step back. "Don't fuck this up, Archie. Or I swear on everything that has ever been holy that there will be absolutely no place in this world or in Giratina's domain where I won't find you to extract my vengeance."

Getting out of his personal space, I smiled up at his shaken face. "That implies no communications of any sort from you and none either from the crew. It wouldn't do to make it all amount to nothing after six months of cold turkey, alright?"

At his slow nod, I patted him on the shoulder and peered at the rest of the small assembly in front of me.

God was I good at this. I always knew my mindset was better suited to more… pressing struggles than the relatively benign ones I had suffered back in my world. But this… this feeling of a shit-housery properly accomplished… It didn't compare to all the times I had successfully bullshit-ed my way out of asinine problems before.

Meh, I'm sure I will have many more occasions to do it in the future.

Grabbing one of the two paralleled ropes, I tugged at it and rolled it a couple times around my waist. No idea how I was supposed to use this but the small motor boat I had spied floating directly beneath me was a pretty good indicator of where I was headed.

Looking back for the last time at the whole ass squadron of Team Rocket I had finessed out of a boat and a ride back to civilization, I warmly smiled and mock-saluted. "Sup losers, be right back!" And I slid down the rope for a good ten seconds or so, until I not so gracefully landed down on one of the plank bench thingy.

While struggling to undo the tight bowline knot tying down the ship, I hoped no one was there to witness my endeavor. It took a few tries for me to remember how I was supposed to untie this particular type of knot. And so, I pinched the 'back' of it and loosened it a bit until it was possible to push out the standing part or whatever its name was.

Finally done with the part I was most unfamiliar with, I strained to inspect the intricacies of this model of motor for another five minutes until I deemed it not too dissimilar to what I was used to.

A first wave of relief hit me after the deafening roar of the motor kick-started. It was deafening, but God did it sound sweet to my ears. I was virtually out of this hell, if the lights I was seeing in the distance really were the city of Cinnabar and it wasn't some farfetched plan to make me lower my guard so a submerged ninja could off me before I reach the city.

A second one hit when I switched the security lever and maneuvered the dinghy into going along the coast.

The third and final one crashed down on me after I took a turn and contoured a particularly steep cliff and lost sight of the _Big Bertha_. Oh my God, I will never forget you Betty-chan, you'll always have a place in my heart.

Honestly, I was currently on cloud nine and I seriously doubted anything could make this night any better.

Then, a splashing sound caught my ears somewhere to my right. I could spy a small form blitzing through the waters, seamlessly keeping up with the speed of a dinghy. A pretty fast one at that.

Emerging from the body of water in a gradually rising mound of liquid, the presumed pokemon finally made itself known to me, triggering a torrent of not so necessary information crashing down in my head. Presumably a Pokedex entry Ash had learned by heart.

Feebas is a shabby, old-looking fish-like pokemon with a light brown body covered in dark, irregular spots. It has large, deep-set eyes and big, pink lips. The tail and pectoral fins are dull blue and tattered in appearance. The dorsal fin is triangular with a hole in the middle. Due to its poor appearance, it has for a long time been largely ignored by predators, trainers, and researchers alike. However, this hardy pokemon is capable of eating anything and living anywhere. It is somewhat rarely found in oceans and weed-choked ponds, even if only a little water is available. While not entirely uncommon, this type of pokemon is known to require a certain amount of effort to find. Once found, though, its dull wits make it easy to capture.

Its flesh's rapturous sapidity and soft edible bones are famed to be one of the finest delicacies in the world. It has been theorized very recently that feebas were the pre-evolved form of the fabled milotic – a mythical species of which there had only ever been no more than five registered instances at a time, historically. One of said period being the one we're currently living in, with Sinnoh Champion Cynthia Shirona, Hoenn Champion Wallace Waters, Ex-Hoenn Sootopolis Gym Leader Juan Alcacer and an unregistered appearance of one such pokemon carrying an unidentified male trainer as the only trainers of the elusive and mystifying water dragons currently alive.

This theory has been however shot down after multiple failures in attempting to artificially recreate the conditions for the expected evolution to happen. Something that couldn't even be confirmed by any such trainer throughout history, with them being tight-lipped about the secret in question. The experiments have now turned to prove a potential further evolution to rosabyss, possibly making it the final evolution to one of the two alternative clamperl lines.

…

Wow that was totally random and, well it was kinda useful so I don't need to complain.

… I needed a feebas.

And as luck would have it, a feebas was currently fixing me with the most dopey look I had ever seen in my life. It was kinda endearing, I'm not gonna lie.

Carefully slowing down the dinghy, I looked back at her – yes a female, going by the heart shape of her crest – a pretty sure fire way to guess at a pokemon's gender – and she slowed down as well, looking relatively healthy by Ash's learned standards while doing so.

Leaning my head and my elbows on a small rudder of the stern of the boat, I looked at her lightly sweeping form. Controlled and calculated waves of her fins being a pretty good indicator of her skill in swimming. Kind of contradictory to her specie's clumsy reputation. Though, being curious and inexperienced enough to accost me didn't quite make her a tome of wisdom in my eyes.

"So," I tilted my head, "what do you need?" It was best to keep from overestimating this one's intelligence. I would look pretty stupid trying to converse philosophy to a fish.

She blinked twice and shrugged. The motion equaling to a weird raise of one of her side-fins and making her tip over to one side. The feebas then did a vertical three-sixty, submerging herself and completing the circle, going back to her original position.

I tried to stifle a laugh but it was too much. And so, I kept it up… and kept it up for a long time I did. Halfway through, I realized my guffaws weren't about the feebas' side somersault anymore. The tears escaping my eyes were ones of relief, the trembling encompassing me were caused by sobs, the headache I had… no, this one was just painful. I really needed to get to a hospital.

Taking note of my position, sprawled on my back, I struggled to get up again and went back to the stern, finding the weird fish just chilling there not having moved an inch, blankly fixing the air some two feet away to my right. The boat probably drifted of its own.

Yeah, I wanted the feebas and I had with me a pretty cool device I thought was a diveball. Leaning down on the rudder once again, I stared at her thinking about how I wanted to play it. I had sworn I wouldn't ever force any pokemon to follow me by catching it without its consent. And I rarely if ever, broke a promise before. I wouldn't start with the first I made to _myself_ upon gazing at my first sunrise in this world.

The feebas before me certainly seemed to be more intelligent than she looked. It wasn't an insult or anything, more of an observation. Alright, if not outright honesty, then at the very least straightforwardness has never failed me before.

"So…" same as before, repetition is always the best course of action to make your point, "you didn't need anything in particular?"

Another circular shrug. One I reacted to with nothing more than a small amused smirk.

"Mhm…" I hummed. "Does that mean you were simply curious?"

Another circular shrug. I could get used to that.

"You realize it's not really safe for you to do that? People pay a lot to eat your kind."

She very nearly shrugged once more before freezing, then took a moment to regain her balance. After her mini scare, she raised her eyes and fixed me with a deadpan I would be hard pressed to recreate. That's unreal, if I could further develop that sassy attitude, I'd have a pretty neat pokemon. Ha, yeah the comedy potential of an impudent and dry-humored fish was through the roof.

I snorted. "You really have no idea, do you? Your meat is supposed to be one of the tastiest things around. If anyone other than me had found you, they would have obviously captured you and sold you to a restaurant for maybe a thousand pokebucks per pound. I guess the fact you're still so curious and naive must mean the predators around here still haven't realized you were actually tasty as hell."

She had progressively grown paler and paler through my short explanation, quite the comical sight I'd say, considering her already sallow skin tone. Though, she still didn't turn around even though the fear was clear in her eyes.

"Don't worry though," I rested my chin on my arms, smiling disarmingly. "I wouldn't do that, I'm a pretty nice guy." Some of the apprehension left her eyes at that, but I could tell she was still wary of me.

"Actually, I have a proposition for you." A serious frown crept on my features, and her new expression marked her as interested. "I see you're quite the curious pokemon, right?" A careful nod was her response, making her whole body bob down in the water. "That's cool, you could say I'm the same in that regard. You see, I'm a really ambitious type of guy and my dreams and goals will inevitably bring some pretty crazy adventures my way."

She didn't outwardly give any sign of comprehension until I mentioned dreams, then she must have got together all of what I said, giving an approving nod I reciprocated.

"Cool," I smiled. "So, I'll need companions, friends to enjoy the journey with, yeah?" She crinkled her big round eyes into an anime style eye-smile and enthusiastically flapped her fins, splashing me in the process.

Once she calmed down, I regained her attention. "Hey, so what would you say to joining me on this. You have my word that you won't regret it."

I could predict what came next. Her big, round, aquamarine eyes got all watery and she jumped into my arms, making bizarre grave sounds I would liken to moans if it came from a cartoon turtle. Not the most accurate comparisons but the point was that it was a strangely endearing sight.

The slimy feeling of her skin, that I could have done without, though.

Letting her rejoice at the end of what I imagined was a pretty long period of solitude, I kept stroking her dorsal fin, which I remembered to be her specie's soft spot from the Amie affection mechanism in the games.

After mulling it over, I believed I had found an appropriate name for her. "Say, would you be against me giving you a name?" Settling down, she tilted her head at me – or was it her whole body? – and blinked a few times before hesitantly nodding.

"Awesome," I smiled. "What do you think of Sedna? I don't remember which mythology it belongs to, but I think it was the name of a sea goddess or something. And you'll need to aspire to be nothing less than that if you ever wish to become a milotic."

She seemed to like the name, but me mentioning milotic didn't really trigger any recognition whatsoever.

"Now, why don't I introduce you to the other member of the team? I think you'll like him." Grabbing the plain pokeball on my breast pocket, I enlarged it and released Eole for the second time in three days. My heart bled at that thought, I had really been a disgrace of a trainer until now. Some of my failures could have been attributed to a very, _very_ rough beginning, but it didn't excuse the lackadaisical attitude I had had concerning his well-being. Could I really impose that on another pokemon? The answer was yes, totally, I could and I _would_. I had goals I needed to attain, and I needed companions for that. It _was_ too late to repair my faults, but not to strive to become a better trainer. They were my responsibility and I would never betray the trust of someone I cared for.

Smiling absently at Eole greeting me and then turning to the newly dubbed Sedna to strike a conversation, I once again repeated the oath I had taken previously.

* * *

Sedna's capture had gone smoothly, a single shake and click signifying my acquisition of a second pokemon. I mean, the term was kinda pejorative, yet what synonym did I have? Exactly, none whatsoe-

My inner monologue was interrupted by another wave of nausea and vertigo, convincing me that leaning on a tree to regain my bearings was an appealing idea. These lapses had grown progressively more frequent for the duration of my trek through the beaten path on the outskirts of the jungle. I believe I had spied one or two rattatas scurrying around in the bushes and vaguely what looked like the coiled purple form of an ekans. Nothing too dangerous since they both tended to be more prey than predator but I couldn't be confident in my odds of surviving a direct confrontation.

Fortunately, the multiple lights of the city ahead had been growing closer and I estimated I would reach it in thirty minutes or so if I managed to keep up the pace I had until now.

Sighing and finally succeeding in stabilizing my erratic heart beat, I took off jogging once again. Resolving myself to another half hour of suffering and occasional gaps in consciousness. I really needed medical attention for fuck's sake.

* * *

"Do I look like I'm fucking fooling around, Elias?! I'll ask this of you for the last time on this god forsaken night. You _will_ patch me through on Samuel's comm screen and explicitly state that Ash Ketchum has information of the higher importance. I won't repeat it, Elias. This is above your pay grade."

Glaring at the hastily retreating form of one of Samuel's assistant, I took a look at my reverse image on the top right corner of the screen and realized how scary I actually looked, lips peeled back and teeth showing in a pretty good impression of the wild and territorial scyther I had encountered while cutting through a patch of the jungle, thinking it was worth the risk to take the shortcut.

It was worth it, but now I looked pretty much as bad as before I had showered earlier. I guess I didn't take particular note of the looks I had been given while running all the way to the pokemon center, you'd think I was in a hurry… I had some lapses of consciousness during the past hour. As in I couldn't recall some periods of thirty seconds or so, like I did them on auto pilot.

My attention was brought back to the monitor before me when the screen flickered to the loading screen and I was then met with the sight of a person's back. Realizing what the problem was, I coughed and Samuel Oak in person turned my way, his eyes going impossibly wide for a second, followed by what looked like pure and unadulterated relief.

"_Ash!? Oh __Legendaries__, ASH! You're okay!_" He choked out. "_I know we only found Delia's body but- but it's nearly been a month, I didn't think..._"

I didn't really know how to react. From the scarce few memories I had of Ash's previous life, him and the man were relatively close. But was it enough to garner such desperate relief? I didn't think so, Samuel Oak was a man amongst men, an unflappable symbol of humanity's superiority over pokemons and one of only three still alive founders of the Pokemon League as the world knows it now.

Another wave of forgetfulness hit me and I realized I hadn't much time before I would lose consciousness. "Samuel!" I interrupted his prolonged rant. "Please I don't have much time before passing out. I need you to teleport to Cinnabar's south Pokemon Center. I really don't have much time, please just come here. I have serious things to tell you. It could save lives."

Taken aback by my pleading, he must have seen something in my face that convinced him of the veracity of my words, or at least that I believed it was true. "I'll be here in a minute," he said before hastily getting up from his seat, not even bothering to hang up.

I certainly hoped he had the means to be here that fast. Perhaps some kind of League level clearance to directly teleport to any destination. It's only common sense that there would be laws and restrictions on such a convenient way of travel. And I had a hunch this world was much more valid security-wise given the precautions taken by Team Rocket.

A sudden buzzing in my head brought me back to reality, a familiar ping alerting me to the sudden presence of a powerful psychic type behind me. Hurriedly turning back on my heels and lightly crouching at the legs, I was met with the sight of Professor Samuel Oak thoroughly scanning the room he had been teleported into. To his side was a brown and yellow humanoid creature sporting a relatively short mustache and two long ear-like spikes on its head. The collection of _five_ silver spoons circulating over her eerily still form marked her as Esper, the professor's alakazam and one of the most powerful individuals of her species in the world. If anyone still alive who had known the previous Ash could have outed me as an impostor, it would be her.

A pair of surprisingly strong arms shook me gently, making me wince at a sharp and agonizing pain somewhere in the region of my lower back, around my kidneys. I had blacked out again. Coming back to, I traced back the appendages to their owner. Oh, yeah that's right, I had called for Samuel to come, and he did.

Snapping back from my delirious state, I scowled and met his concerned gaze. "Samuel," I began, injecting as much false familiarity as I could in my voice, the relief was a hundred percent true however. "I am going to pass out soon, so I'll- I need you to listen to what I'm saying, please. There's a small motorboat docked on the beach around two miles south-east of here. Once there, you'll find a cliff and with a view from above, you should spot a boat, a big one painted in black. It's crack full of Team Rocket, there's even an Executive. Don't get spotted, send someone flying over that area to find it, bring reinforcements, a lot of those. I don't know how this is supposed to work, but I'd suggest flanking them and first and foremost send someone to cut off their routes to deep sea. Their first reaction will be to flee further east, I think."

Taking a deep breath, I noticed I was panting and sweating like I had just ran a marathon. Yeah, I didn't have much time left. "I'm serious here, it's not a prank or anything. I told them I'd be back by dawn so that leaves you-" I checked the only wall with a clock on the now empty lobby. "It's one in the morning, it leaves you four to five hours to prepare. I can tell you everything I know later but this is urgent. I also need a favor."

Fishing Eole's and Sedna's pokeballs out of my pocket, I hesitated for a few seconds before shoving them into Samuel's hands. "I'm trusting you to look after the most precious things in my life, Samuel. Take care of them, feed them and do not let anyone see them before I wake up, I'm begging you."

I was preparing to insist on the fact that no one was to catch wind of me having a togepi and a feebas but a bell-like sound reverberated inside my head and my vision swam, harsher than ever before. The world around me grew dark, and I knew no more once again.

* * *

**A/N: Ay'all ^^. Sorry for monopolizing the end of the chapter but I believe it would be best for me to ****address**** an issue that has been brought to my attention more than once. **

**It's about the SI's supposed naivety. As in, he takes some weird decisions or whatever. And I gotta say, I agree. However, I'll try to defend my point of view, so hear me out, please?**

**Alright, so first of all, the SI isn't me, per say. I'm trying to put a clear divide between us. I like to think I would act as level-headed as he has throughout the story even though I haven't had any real chance to prove it. He just has experienced some shit I haven't, yeah? Like, I didn't die and got shoved into a 14 years old's body choke full of teenage hormones and what not.**

**And how can you read a story without a bit of character development? I'm not fully matured in real life, and neither is the SI. In fact he still has the brain of a kid, the soul and intellect are what changed. Ergo, the first person POV. I only write what the SI is aware of, y'all will have the chance to read about how he's seen by others soon enough.**

**Also, I realize all of this isn't exactly the epitome of the Pokemon fandom in terms of well, you know, **_**Pokemon stuff. **_**But the character had to be fleshed out a minimum; you're reading a story about him after all.**

**Now, I'm fairly confident about the quality of the training and battle scenes I'll be writing in the near future – I'd say for next chapter hopefully, knock on wood fellas – so look forward to them, it'll be pretty cool.**

**Anyway, I sincerely hope you've appreciated the chapter, sorry for the rant and thank you for sticking around c: Like, 50 followers with only two chapters… I was expecting much less.**

**Uploaded on: 07/15/2019**


	4. Down In A Hole

**A/N: Waddup peeps^^. Thanks for the support, you guys are killing it.**

**Beta: **BerserkSpectre

**Chapter 4 –** Down In A Hole

"_Life is a fight for territory and once you stop fighting for what you want, what you don't want will automatically take over." - _Les Brown

'_Why do I smell a hospital?'_

My first thought upon groggily waking up was that wherever I was smelled like sick people and antiseptic – opening my eyes only confirmed my suspicion. Currently, I shared a small hospital room with one other person. The woman, a very attractive one might I add, had her profile turned toward me, busying herself with some kind of medical material softly clattering on a metal plate.

There were tubes all over my prone form. Two IV ones stuck into both my median cubital veins and what I assumed was a feeding tube that I could feel tickling my throat when I tried to swallow the non-existent saliva in my mouth. Not the best sensation in the world, I tell you.

Knowing the feeding one at the very least was safe to retire, I did so. I'm not gonna lie, it was awful. Worse, after getting out about four inches of it, thoroughly grossing myself out with the mucus and saliva staining my fingers in the process, I was overtaken with the overwhelming urge to sneeze. _Even_ _worse_, it swiftly turned into a sneezing fit, where I did the deed five times in a row, feeling the tube ejecting bit by bit until it plopped out on my lap with a wet pop. Man, my thoughts probably read like some bad smut story.

Panting and gasping for breath, I felt like my already parched throat was in tatter. I mean, it needed to stop. I used to have a rather high tolerance for pain, and it seemed to have followed me into Ash's body, but there was such a thing as too much. Couldn't a guy get a break?

I was suddenly aware of a pair of soft yet firm hands guiding me back to my previously lost lying position. Coughing and sputtering, I looked up at the doctor's face and did my best not to react to the right side of her face being split by a large burn scar stretching from her neck to her brow. I recognized the pattern from my own mangled arm, but fuck did I feel like I got the long end of the stick for once.

Still, I felt pretty good about surviving my whole previous ordeal and so I decided to indulge my desire to cross one thing I always wanted to do out of my 'list of things to do before I die'TM. Namely, pull out the pick-up lines for nurses I had accumulated my whole life.

Accepting the glass of water I was handed, I nodded gratefully and drunk a sip at a time, careful not to trigger another fit – this time of the coughing type. The woman hadn't taken her eyes off me from the beginning, I could see concern veiled under a guise of indifference she put forward to not lead to any over-attachment to her patients – at least, that's what I thought I saw. I previously knew a lot of persons working in the medical field, and they actually were some of the most caring individuals you'd ever meet.

"D-Do-" a sputter escaped my throat. "Would you happen to have an inhaler, please?" I inquired.

Doctor… L. Monroe – it said on her plaque – tilted her head, a confused expression creeping on her features. "An inhaler? Your medical records don't mention any asthma or respiratory problems…"

Fighting the smirk that threatened to twist my lips, I wore the most innocent expression I had in stock while taking note of the name written on her pin. "Oh, not for that Ms Monroe, it's just that you took my breath away."

She appeared even more confused for a second, until realization seemingly dawned on her, an amused smirk crossing her lips. "Can't say I've ever heard this one before. So you've been sleeping on it for how long, exactly?" Nuh-uh! I know she didn't just say that.

"Ma'am," I started, with a shit-eating grin on my face, "only since the day I was born..."

* * *

"Hm…" Lena hummed, the pen she was holding coming up to tap at her chin, "I'd give this one a four."

"A four out of five, of course?" I asked indignantly.

"Ha! You wish it was, I seem to distinctly recall you being the one making the rules at the beginning, it's a four out of ten. Deal with it, Ash."

"Meh," I shrugged, "you need to grow up, being so petty isn't elegant." I rubbed my hands together, both for dramatic purpose and to ward off the atrophy I still felt in my arms. "Alright then, brace yourself. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Taking a deep breath and lowering my voice, I adopted my best Frank Sinatra impression. "Are you my appendix? Because I don't understand how you work, but this feeling in my stomach makes me want to take you out."

She said nothing for a moment, fixing with me deadpan.

I stared back.

Then we both burst out laughing, tears welling up in my eyes and stomach hurting.

"That-" Lena took her glasses off, a handkerchief in hands dabbing at her eyes, "that was horrible. And you should _feel_ horrible about it."

"Yeah, but it was so bad it looped around to good again. You didn't seem to mind when you were laughing your pretty eyes out." I retorted, smiling charismatically. It didn't work. Lena just smiled condescendingly at me, but I didn't blame her. I _was _a kid – at the moment –and she was a successful young woman in the prime of her life.

Yet, one thing I hadn't anticipated was for the jolly ambiance previously present to suddenly evaporate, without anything in particular prompting it to do so.

Which compelled me, at long last, to finally tackle the elephant in the room. Pointing at the engine to my immediate right, but not looking at it, I inquired, "Is that a dialysis machine?"

She sobered up as well, schooling her features into a more serious setting, apparently not at all taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere. "Yes, it is."

Forcing myself not to look down at my lap and instead not breaking eye contact with her, I asked, "I'm not… not exactly the most knowledgeable person in your field, but aren't those for treating kidney failures and all that?"

"They are." The frown that marred her scarred face wasn't exactly reassuring.

Sighing deeply, I bit on the inside of my raw and bloody cheek and asked the question that was burning my insides. "How bad is it, Doc."

It wasn't a question, I already knew it would be bad. As did she, if her forced neutral expression was anything to go by. "Your kidneys are in a really bad state, you've contracted a type of urinary tract infection that originated from your bladder until the bacteria traveled to one of your kidneys. You've also been afflicted with two somewhat exotic viruses usually transferred by poison type pokemons – found in the tentacool line in particular – that are really messing with your blood flow."

The older woman then proceeded to pick up a clipboard and I assumed she was getting ready to dump the rest on me, but she was interrupted by an insistent knock on the door.

Glancing up from my medical records, a glint of apprehension flashed through her eyes, and I realized however it was behind that door was expected. Fuck fuck fuck! It's a League official, right? For fuck's sake, of course it would be. They probably thought I was complicit with Team Rocket.

Without waiting for the permission to enter, the door opened and entered a man, older than fifty judging by his white mustache and shining bald head. I'm not gonna lie, the guy was rocking that outfit like I wish I would when I'd grow old. A bordeaux – bordering on very dark red – form fitting button up shirt tucked inside a pair of beige pants and covered by a magnificent white waistcoat. Complementing his style and heavily contributing in not making him look like a waiter, he had a white and red trilby hat tucked under his arms and was playing with a cane on his other hand, making it balance back and forth on his wrist while sizing me up the same way I did him.

Except that I didn't have sunglasses to hide most of my intentions, so I took the offensive before he could destabilize me. "You do realize you look like a waiter, old man?"

It was obviously a lie, and he knew it, his outfit was impeccably snazzy. He literally had nothing going against him but it was the first thing that popped into my brain.

"And _you_ look like shit, brat." He accentuated his retort with a quick jab of his cane in my direction.

"Yeah, well at least I still have hair. And neither do I look like I just got out of a country club photo shoot." I was proud of this one, I'll admit. It was like chicken soup to my middle-class soul.

The elderly man quirked an eyebrow at that and conceded the point with a nod. When he turned to Lena, I could see the both of them stiffen before trying to look as relaxed as they could. These two had history, that I could tell.

"Leonora." The old man said in a soft, low voice and head inclined in respect.

"Gym Leader Blaine," Lena stiffly replied. Ouch, even I could feel the resentment in her voice. As did Blaine, a grimace overtaking his features for a second. He stayed put, mouth half-open as if wanting to say more. He probably would have if not for her shoving my medical records into his arms and storming out of the room, rattling the door in its hinges.

The debonair elder stood frozen for a few seconds before sighing heavily, a good lot of tension heaving out of him, just as I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Wow," I whistled condescendingly, "way to ruin the mood, old man. I was haggling out a sponge wash from a nursing assistant and you just… barge in like you own the place or something."

Blaine just pinched his nose and sighed once again. Not to be deterred, I added, "Is that an old man thing, y'know… sighing every ten seconds. It's like, your sixth time. I counted."

The bald man raised his head and just stared at me. "I'm responsible for sixty percent of this hospital's founding, kid. If I were you, I wouldn't want to antagonize a man who could order you only get plain white rice and untoasted bread for every single one of your future meals."

Taken aback by the brutality – for that was nothing if not _brutal_ – of his assault, I sweat-dropped. "Damn, Blaine. You're really pulling out the big guns. And this early in the game?" I then adjusted my posture, positioning the over starched and scratchy pillow to support my back. "But I know these are empty threats, I saw the room across the hallway with its door open, the vases were full of fresh flowers. This is a real hospital, not a prison where you could eventually do that." I smirked, "And frankly, I know I could flirt my way into a nurse's good graces and get a vanilla pudding out of it at the very least."

He didn't find that amusing, because next thing I knew, he faced the door and locked it. I had no idea it was possible to lock a hospital door from the inside and so I voiced it aloud. To no avail, though; he was still ignoring me, proceeding to check outside the windows and closing the blinds.

The maelstrom of feelings of vulnerability inside of me festered like a whirlpool. Even through the aftereffects of the heavily numbing medication I was under, all the alarms in my head were blaring at full blast in my ears. Yet, I just sat there, oblivious to any and all instincts that indicated the man now sat on a chair to the side of my bed – a voice recorder activated on his hand – as nothing short of a minacious threat I should do everything in my power to get away from.

…

"What have you done to me?" I said, with a serene smile that felt all too natural on my face, but I could tell was decidedly _wrong_. "Is there a psychic around?" I swept my gaze around the room to the right, to the left and to the right once again where I was this time met with the sight of a yellow furred giant fox, coming up to around four feet of height, with what looked like a mounting wisp of pinkish smoke emanating in effluvium out of the tip of the highest point of its rightmost tail.

"Who do we have here?" This wasn't me talking for fuck's sake. "Aren't you a gorgeous ninetales, sweetie? What's its name?" I asked to a visibly confused Blaine.

"How come… he isn't supposed to see him…?" he muttered. I doubt I was expected to hear it, though. "The suspect appears to have kept a level of awareness regarding his mental state, going as far as to catch sight of the disillusioned hypnosis-inducer."

Finally coming to a decision, probably that whatever was happening was inconsequent, he perceptibly shrugged and rubbed at his mustache. "Now, you'll answer a few questions of mine, Ash. Are you alright with that?"

"No of course I'm not. But that inbred Crash Bandicoot in the corner wouldn't let me decline anyway, would he?" I attempted a glare, but my features were frozen into a blank mask I tried to extricate myself from, to no avail though. The nine tailed fox bared his teeth at me, a strange sound between a growl and a purr escaping his maw. "Yeah, that's right you fucking whore of a psychic type reject. I bet not even slowpokes would approach you with a ten-feet-long stick."

I think the fire type was ready to pounce at me but Blaine interrupted with a commanding "Enough!" that probably saved my life. His shades covered gaze then turned to meet my own blank one. "I won't repeat this, brat. So you'd better listen. I am Blaine Monroe, Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island, assigned by Champion Lance Wataru with the task to investigate and deliver judgment on whether or not you were accomplice of the terrorist organization known as Team Rocket. You are currently under League sanctioned hypnosis to prevent any and all attempt at perjury for the duration of the interrogation. It is for the moment undetermined how you're still keeping conscious thoughts of your own, but this will be reviewed at a later date."

He then sharply rapped his cane on the white tiled floor, triggering an intensifying of the gaseous substance emanating from the ninetales, my perception of the world wavering around me, until I blacked out.

My last thought was that passing out as much as I did was quickly getting old.

* * *

'_Why do I smell a hospital?'_

My first thought upon groggily waking up was that wherever I was smelled like antiseptic and sick people – opening my eyes confirmed my suspicion. Currently, I shared a small hospital room with one other person. The man, a really stylish one had just returned a pokemon to its pokeball, at least that's what it sounded like to me. He seemed familiar. Really famili- fuck…

The previous feelings of weakness and vulnerability came back with a vengeance…

No… This could not- This_ will not_ continue. This motherfucker had to go down.

Gripping the polyurethane tube tightly in my hands, I carefully moved them under my covers, ready to mutter something on as weak a voice I could manage so he would approach to listen. I would then strangle him with the feeding tube. Payback is only fair play after all.

Before that, however, my other senses were coming back to me, enabling me to catch the end of a sentence. "-uspect's interrogation seemly coincides with what limited feedback was extracted from various culprits involved. Canceling the immediate need for the forceful extraction of Archer Scholz's memories enough to alleviate further suspicions upon involvement in the case TR-six-oh-oh-two. However, any and all inquiry as to his situation prior to the arrival of the Team Rocket contingent have been met with tightly guarded resistance. Quite the mystery, may I say. Nothing potentially incriminating, however. Whereabouts of the suspect having been deduced and confirmed by survivors of the case TR-six-oh-oh-one."

I then heard the click of a button, probably to stop the recording. I was fully prepared to proceed with my sorry excuse of a plan after that. Disgust, anger and resentment welling up in my gut, pushing me to heights of hate I wasn't aware I could reach before today. I felt… violated, for lack of a more accurate word.

Distracted by the sudden light scraping of the chair to my side, I kept my eyes closed, a small whimper escaping my lips on purpose, to sell the act. He didn't need to know I was awake. "I am… I'm so very sorry, young man. I know you're awake, so please hear me out on this. Arceus only knows how much wrong I've done in the past. But in this instance, it was necessary."

The old man sighed once again. "Don't take this the wrong way, it was inevitable, just don't think it was anything of your fault." He took a cigar out of a box inside his coat, lighting it up and taking a long drag out of it. "There will come times in life where you will do nothing wrong and everything right, yet you will still lose. But that's no fault of yours. That's only life." Another exhale of smoke, this one dangerously close to reaching my nostrils and making me bolt at him out of sheer fury. "Now, why don't you stop fantasizing about killing me with your gross feeding tube and move on, huh?" he said with a knowing tone.

Glancing down through my eyelashes at the small extremity poking out from under my shoulder, I sighed in defeat and opened my eyes, raising my gaze to meet his, carefully neutral against carefully neutral. My throat still felt incredibly raw, but it was enough to convey my thoughts. "I'm not going to forget about this. Be it from you, the League or maybe Lena – I'm assuming she knew what your _visit_ was about – you've given me something to be wary of. Neither am I going to promise that any kind of… retribution is totally off the table. In fact, you should expect that I'll fuck you over at the first occasion I'll get." I repressed the urge to sigh once again and gripped at my sheets, knuckles going white. "I'll try to keep anyone not involved out of it, though. Now, leave me alone."

Turning my back on the bald nonce, I pulled the sheets up to my neck and hoped he had the decency to fuck off before I would do something that would lead me to prison, or worse.

Around ten seconds passed, where I assumed he was debating whether it was a good idea to start the conversation anew. He must have judged against it and just made his way out of the room.

I felt my shoulders finally relax at the light clicking of the door, prompting the rest of my body to follow through. Not feeling like opening my eyes once again, I just drifted back to sleep, still feeling the after-effects of the medication, and maybe some remaining hypnosis. I didn't know if it was afflicted by scent or anything, to be honest. Something to add to the list of things I was curious about, I guess.

* * *

The tension was once again palpable in the room, a thick and suffocating tang in the air pressing down on me, an unusual numbness in my lower back that was suddenly even more oppressive than any pain I had experienced before.

"… and you also seem to have suffered from a major but still reversible case of swimmer's ear on your right hand side," Lena said, speaking from somewhere to my left.

Puzzled by the last bit of her diagnostic, I felt compelled to ask, "How could you know that without any explicit test, though? Aren't sight, hearing and all that supposed to be tested from the patient's point of view for the feedback to be relevant?"

A quirk of the eyebrow and a thoughtful hum was her initial reaction. "I guess you didn't have to take the trainer aptitude test yet, so your ignorance of the subject is excusable."

I felt my brow spasm out of irritation at her somewhat callous and abrasive manner of speech, but let it slide in the end. I _was_ ignorant in this matter in particular, after all. Ash would be the one to blame, though. As apparently, his studious streak extended no farther than Pokemon ethology and even that'd be a stretch, he was really only focused on Robert Birch and Aurea Juniper's works. The interest for the latter having begun with an innocent crush and delved into a genuine passion for the origin of pokemons.

Catching the end of another sentence, I quickly nodded to make it seem like I was listening the whole time. "… so those diagnosis machines have been adapted to human physiology, mostly by reducing the radiation output that was commonly used for pokemon. It sounds somewhat simplistic an idea, but the idea has been bouncing around the scientific community for decades until William Sylph came that, the radiations at work could only be screened, redirected, concentrated or suppressed. Never diluted. At least, that was the case until Bill cracked the code, so to say."

Marveling at her practiced and smooth motion to adjust her glasses, I took a moment to make the necessary connections and resolved to really dust off Ash's books and general knowledge. Be it about pokemon machinery, or maybe just this world's pop-culture, I had no doubt it would eventually prove to be worth the time.

"All right," I clapped my hands, trying to dissipate the thick atmosphere in the air, "thanks for the crash course, Doc. Though you're yet to give me the rundown on my state. All I know is that I've got a quarter of a kidney. So I'd appreciate if you could start again. As in, take it from the beginning, I wasn't really focused earlier."

Frustration flickered through her bespectacled gaze, a click of the tongue preceding a sigh of resignation. "Alright, I suppose it's to be expected with your state. Tell you what, why don't you read this?" She passed me the dreaded clipboard. "And then, you can ask me about what you need clarification on, is that okay?"

Absently nodding, I skimmed through the sheet of paper, not understanding eight out of ten words used, including pronouns and prepositions. I didn't even bother with the charts and complicated statistics. Still, I nodded and deposited the small weight on my lap, meeting the older woman's expectant gaze with a flat stare. "I have no idea what I'm looking at means."

Palming her face, she sighed and took a deep breath in preparation for what I anticipated to be a long-ass speech. "With how much older you acted like, I honestly forgot you were still a kid..." Another sigh from her, then she straightened her back. "Give me a minute to try and get you a short version."

After a short while, she hummed to herself and cleared her throat with a cough."Okay, I'm going to leave out anything that will heal before you're cleared out in a week. You already know about your temporary hearing problem. You've also contracted some minor bacterial infections all over, but those have already been dealt with. Which means the standard set of injections you should have received at the beginning of your journey have already been administrated. That would mean the time you'd renew them annually will now differ from your peers. You won't have to look forward to the usual yearly bureaucratic nightmare trainers usually deal with, at least. What else… Oh! We found some shrapnel of wood and residues of a strange mucous substance under the scar tissue of your forearm. The one who treated you before had done a pretty bad job of it. " Lena tapped the end of her pen against her chin, forcing me to shelf away the fact they thought the burn had been an old wound, in favor of focusing on her once again.

"Otherwise, most of your injuries are superficial. Your kidneys, however…" She grimaced at that and handed me the clipboard, pointing to a few x-rays. "You can look forward to ten months or so where you'll need to be put every night on a kidney dialysis machine. Unless we can find a donor for you, you'll have to plug that in each night to help your body filter out everything. You could possibly opt for transplantation instead but I'd personally advise against it, there are much more urgent cases than yours. The Creator only knows how much we need those. And, well… finding a donor for an O negative like yourself would take just as much time as a full recovery would. Not to mention all the complications it would cause later down the line for you. Full recovery isn't an option with a transplantation."

Wow… And that was the _short _version?"Thanks," I said tonelessly. "So, do you thing I could be discharged early?"

She pursed her lips and still managed to sigh through them. How she did that, I have no idea. "I don't think you understand just how serious this is, Ash. Your body is failing you. If left untreated, you could die."

_That already happened before,_ I thought.

"I know," I said quickly. "For real, I understand. I'll need to stick myself on one of those dialysis machines every night until I've fully recovered otherwise my kidneys will fail and slowly kill me. I get what you're saying. I'm not stupid enough to think I can go on a journey with dodgy kidneys, but I fully believe that I'll be up and running by the time the trainer aptitude test comes around."

Her gobsmacked face told enough about what she thought of my odds to recover in less than three months. "And how on earth do you think you can manage this miracle, young man?" She said with a patronizing tone, hands on hips and glare trained on me.

Pretending to mull it over for dramatic purpose, an arrow of clarity struck and shattered what I thought was a relatively valid plan.

A little shaken by the prospect of my idea not working, I asked, "The treatment doesn't involve anything like hyper-potions or anything like that, right? It's just waiting for my organs to go back to how they were before… _R__ight_?"

"What on earth do you mean by this?! It doesn't work like-"

"Just answer the question, Lena." I swiftly cut her off.

She fixed me with another long glare before taking a deep breath and sighing. "No, there isn't any intravenous treatment involved, the machine is just taking some of the burden off of your kidneys until your body manages to deal with the deficiencies once again."

Taking it all in, I thought of an analogy that would be easier for me. "Would it be wrong to imagine my overall health as an HP bar and that after these last few weeks of having it relatively low, being treated would help my HP points regenerate to an acceptable level for me to begin my journey?" I carefully put forward.

"… That is certainly an interesting metaphor. Why, yes. I'd say it's as accurate as anything I could have came up with. In your case, the treatment doesn't inject anything foreign inside your body. It only helps in removing excess salt, water, etcetera out of your bloodstream. As well as regulating blood pressure and helping in producing blood cells." Her expression seemed to brighten for some reason. "In fact, you wouldn't believe it but I've had people tell me their overall quality of life has been drastically better after they had taken up regular exercise alongside the treatment."

A heavy weight seemed to have lifted itself up from my shoulders, prompting a relieved sigh to escape me. "That's fantastic! So I only really need to plug the IV in me every night before going to sleep and marginally live healthier?" She hummed in careful acquiescence, making my smile derail into downright ecstatic territory. "Then, my point stands, I'll be starting my journey in three months and there is literally nothing anyone could do against that." I said, imagining determination and charisma shining through my eyes.

"Ash," Lena's soft voice said, apparently not blown away at all by my passion. "I have no idea what you have in mind, but you seem convinced that it will work. So I'll tell you this, once and only once." Her voice then gained a more cutting edge. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, it won't work. Esoteric means of healing are nothing but a myth. Whoever is filling your mind with all this nonsense is without a shred of doubt a scammer. You're young, a few months more or less on your journey won't make a difference. What will, however, is faulty organs. Do you understand?" She said with a stern look.

She had a point, but I had seen, I had _felt _Eole's Aura coursing through me. I didn't realize it until later, but what I had felt when he healed my arm had been along the same lines of what using Aura to shield my mind from Latios had felt like. I knew that harnessing that power would be hard, but I would be damned to hell and beyond before I'd give up trying.

You couldn't tempt me with something as tantalizing as that without me doing everything I could and then some more to possess it. I was and will probably be afraid all along the way, there was no denying that. However, something I quickly learned from having a somewhat cynical outlook on life was that greed was and always would be a greater impetus than fear was a deterrent. It was simple human nature.

"Are you absolutely positive that moves like heal bell or wish don't work on humans?" I tried one last time. That would fully clear out any doubt I had about my chances for what I had in mind.

She was clearly fed up, visibly straining to humor me. "Yes, I am sure healing moves are not an option for humans," she seethed out.

Finally looking up to meet the woman's dark eyes for a few seconds, I was inwardly dancing in triumph. "Y-you're… you're right…" I deflated, feigning disappointment. "I'm sorry, it's just- I thought I would find something no one had ever thought of trying before. I guess it isn't the case, though. I just like to think I'm special or better than others sometimes."

A sympathetic expression crossed her face. "I… Yes, I suppose it is normal at your age to feel like you can change the world." I nodded in silent acceptance. "Cheer up, though. You can still change the world with something else, you're a bright young man and you seem to have ambition in spades. I know you'll do grand things in the future." She said with a somewhat forced cheer in her voice.

"Alright then," I sighed in feigned disappointment once again, cursing internally my lack of brain-mouth filtering. I could have avoided all this shit if I just kept my mouth shut. "So, I still have to stay in here for a week, right?"

"Yes, you're to be discharged next Monday."

"Okay," I stared at her, waiting for something that would give away that she knew what Blaine would do to me when she left the room. She didn't show any type of guilt, though. And I thought I had her pegged right, she wouldn't leave me to my fate if she was indeed aware of it. Which led me to thinking about Eole and Sedna, and obviously the new issue arisen with Oak.

"Did I have any visitors by the way?" I asked, trying not to sound too desperate to see my pokemons again. It was kinda scary how fast I became attached to them, I didn't even see them for more than a total of ten hours combined. God they were just so cute with their big watery eyes and-

My gushing was interrupted by Lena speaking."Yes, actually. I didn't know you were acquainted with Professor Oak!" it was her time to gush at that, "he's always been my idol growing up, you know. He's just so intelligent, wise, well spoken, charismatic, passionate, engaging, appealing, charming, attractive, magnetic and… sexy…"

I said nothing, trying to keep the judgment out of my reaction at the literal _purr_ she got out at the last few words "Okay, cool. But did I have visitors or not?"

Shaking her head, Lena straightened her back and looked at me as if nothing had happened. "Why, yes. I'm not sure what you did to warrant it but you've been under constant watch by ACE trainer. Seeing as the… the Gym Leader didn't get you out of here chained, I'd conclude you aren't an actual danger to this ward or I would have done so myself." I could genuinely _taste_ the contempt and disgust she tried not to show when mentioning the bald nonce, prompting me to cross her out of my list. I did like her, to be honest and she seemed to be out of the loop, so retaliation wasn't in the agenda for her.

"Lena," I repeated patiently, "you still haven't tell me if I had visitors or not."

Adorning a sheepish smile, she nodded in apology. "Alright, yes I guess I'm still a bit shaken from meeting _The_ Professor Oak." She sighed dreamily, a far off look entering her eyes, urging me to cough to regain her attention once again. "Okay, okay… Okay. I'm sorry," she said, taking a deep breath. "Yes, you did. Professor Oak has been at your side for the better part of the last forty hours. League officials have been in and out of your room as well since you've been admitted once you've been transferred from the south-most PokeCenter's emergency ward two nights ago, discussing privately with your guardian until an hour or so before you woke up when he had to urgently head back somewhere I wasn't made privy to."

I absorbed all the information, not sure what to think of the level of affection Samuel seemed to have for me, or well… Ash, rather for Ash. "My guardian, you say?" I inquired, confused about that part.

"Well, yes. Professor Oak." My poleaxed look must have revealed my confusion. "Weren't you aware of this?" I absently shook my head, a cloying, sickly sensation settling in my gut. The man obviously cared for Ash, enough so that he would accept being his godfather.

I was a Reprobate with a capital R that rolls off the tongue like in Spanish. There was no denying that because I was about to milk him of every little advantage I could get away with. I would obviously be stupid not to.

Shaking my head in a short window of lucidity, I managed to catch the flash of pity she concealed under a no doubt practiced mask of simple sympathy. "I should probably call the professor. That is, if you wouldn't rather sleep more?"

"Nah, I think I can deal with it right now." She nodded and turned on her heels, exiting the room I would probably call mine for a week or so.

… Fuck. How am I supposed to pee?

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

I looked up from the page I had been so focused on – apparently intensely enough that I hadn't heard the door opening and closing – to find the rigid form of Samuel Oak, dressed in a light brown turtleneck and brown cargo pants under a not so pristine white lab coat, staring at me in barely concealed concern.

Not knowing how to react, and having kind of given up on meeting the man after having waited around two hours for it, I stared back.

…

It was a really good book, I can't lie – _SPQK: A Kanjohian History _by Nayoko Shirona – a copy lent to me by Karen, a lovely nurse in training who I've struck a more or less awkward but nevertheless pleasant conversation before dropping a subtle inquiry as to how I would be able to relieve myself. Turns out I was in a good enough state I could do it alone if I lugged around the IV stand.

… Yeah, no I couldn't push this off for much longer. "Yes, sorry Samuel, I'm okay." The words finally getting out, my shoulders slumped on their own.

The man still stood by the door released a shallow breath, his own shoulders sagging for a moment before pulling himself together. "May I come inside? We need to talk."

From what I could garner from Ash's memories, the man rarely asked permission that lightly. I had tried mentally preparing myself for this, ever since I had talked to him on that call station but I wasn't one for planning too much ahead, I was an impetuous, impulsive individual, with perhaps a sprinkle of scheming when the need arose. The former traits had also been propulsed to new heights recently, which removed any doubt I had concerning Ash's influence on my psych. I was sure I could have dealt with the Latios' case without having it escalated if I was in my right mind. Then again… I wouldn't have gotten Eole if not for that…

For fuck's sake! What's wrong with me?! I had enough time dealing with those issues on the island, why am I still so stuck on them?!

"Ash!" I was cut out of my inner turmoil by a gentle shake on my shoulder. "Ash, are you sure you're unhurt? Should I call a nurse?"

Nodding to alleviate his concern, I inwardly sighed. This was going to be a very long night.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, sorry if the ending isn't up to par with the rest of the chapter, but I've been stuck on this for the past month. Halfheartedly, I decided to update and pass on to what's really getting me pumped up. And who knows, maybe I'll come back in a more or less near future to edit it – once I become a better writer hopefully.**

**Guys, I'm not gon lie to you. None of y'all are ready for what I'm preparing in the chapters to come! I'm talking training. I'm talking battling. I'm talking high level training. I'm talking high level battling. I'm talking elite shithousery. I'm talking hilarious interactions I've had in mind for quite some time. It will be unreal, I guarantee it.**

**You wouldn't believe it but I've already got some of the conference written so I don't end up forgetting some scenes I think would be unreal. It will be glorious**

**I'd also like to convey my gratitude to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story – by the way, I'd appreciate some more reviews. Like, without constructive criticism, I'm going to assume everything I've written to be perfect.**

**Whatever… You lot are ugly anyway. See if I care ****ಠ╭╮ಠ**

**Uploaded on: 08/25/2019**


	5. The Blueprint : The Gift & The Curse

**A/****N: … Y****eah, I know. Nearly 10 weeks without an update. I feel like the scummiest of all scum.**

**Anyway, t****hanks a million time for everyone's patience, we're finally onto the primary thing that made me want to write fanfiction – Pokemon Training and Battling. I'm so fucking ****excited ****x).**** Either way, here's a little taste of what's to come.**

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**Beta: **BerserkSpectre

**Chapter 5 –** The Blueprint : The Gift and the Curse

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_"__The only moment of possible happiness is the present. The past leaves regret, and the future gives uncertainty__." - _Arsène Wenger

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For a brief moment, I was back on that cursed island.

_Ash and cinders filled the air, as the flames rose higher and higher, their orange glow illuminating the grove, the moon blocked by a __thick l__ayer of sm__o-_

A sphere of fire the size of a car exploded not five feet in front of me, followed by a torrent of embers splashing into the artificially erected psychic barrier. I guess it did well enough its job of protecting my squishy and dangerously _not _fire retardant human body. Although I could have done without the wave of heat singeing at my hastily raised forearms.

I felt my heart rate begin to speed up and my excitement rise, adrenaline coursing through my veins as if _I_ was the Arcanine currently facing the titan of a kangaskhan on the field.

'_So_, this_ is a pokemon battle',_ I thought as I barely managed to track the red, orange and black blur of my temporary partner circling the ever stoic form of our opponent. The behemoth hadn't even moved an inch since the start. Prefering instead to raise giant menhirs of stone out of the ground to harmlessly snuff out the salvo of flame bursts, effectively making his defense impenetrable.

'_This_ _doesn't work_,' I bit the tip of my thumb, balefully glaring at the just as stoic Samuel, inspecting the circular field with sharp eyes some thirty feet to my right. Occasional suspicious shuffling of feet aside, he was standing as straight as one of the stone edges erected by his own partner. This needed to change.

"Arcanine," I called, "retreat here, please!" The 'please' sounded lame even to me, but I can assure you anyone facing this magnificent beast would feel that respect was necessary and deserved.

The fire type heeded my order after launching a last flame burst that promptly splashed harmlessly against one of the aforementioned giant stalagmites. Once at my side, I marveled at the feeling of being in control of such devastating power, because this is what it was all about at the end of the day – controlling living weapons of massive destruction.

"Okay, friend. I've got a question for you, if you're okay with it?" Still keeping his eyes trained on his opponent who looked quizzical if not outright amused, the giant canine nodded acceptance. "Aight, I need to know if she has any kind of way to know your position when she's inside those rocks – so, does she?" A beat passed where he considered the question and hesitantly nodded his head and barked in a relatively accurate form of affirmative answering.

I frowned. "You trying to tell me she has other means to do so?" Another bark in the affirmative. "Is it some kind of sensing?" He nodded. "Cool, we can work with that. How much time do you think you could keep up a flamethrower without tiring?" He turned his head just enough to fix me with a deadpan and chuffed in mild irritation, making me feel embarrassed and confused in equal measure – I had no idea what it meant, but I would guesstimate around one minute. It should be enough for what I had in mind.

"Flamethrower then, change your angle whenever she makes another stone edge. If your attacks can't reach her, the heat certainly will."

With a determined bark, Arcanine went back into the fray. He stopped dead in his tracks, some thirty feet away from the wary looking kangaskhan, an ominous orange glow emanating from his underside and creeping up to his throat. Flames emerged to lick away at the corner of his maw, announcing the arrival of something undoubtedly spectacular. The second it took to form the attack was undeniably worth it, as an incandescent pillar of white flames propelled itself into a hurriedly drawn out wall of rock that looked to be around ten feet wide.

"Arcanine, take it easy. We're trying to make it last." He seemingly heard my words because the literal column of incandescence lowered in intensity until I could discern the distinct flickering of flames I commonly attributed to fire. The added visibility let me take note of the slab of rock turning to an orange-red hue. I felt my eyes bulge at that. His flames were genuinely hot enough to make stone approach melting point.

Throwing a look Samuel's way, I caught the tail-end of his foot sliding forward on the dirt, pointing straight at Arcanine's current position. It was then followed by the first proactive action of the kangaskhan, who threw a basketball sized blue orb of energy – powerful enough to contain a smaller, clearer ball on the inside – that broke through the super-heated stone edge. It slammed into Arcanine at incredible speed and detonated in a light show of white and light-blue hues, sending his giant form crashing a few feet to the right into the barrier as the area of impact at his side flared a bright, fiery red.

I ran to him, pressing on the opaque wall with my fists. "Are you al- Dodge!" I cried desperately as a barrage of luminescent star shaped missiles impacted where my partner was previously sprawled on, kicking up a cloud of dust that effectively barred me from seeing whatever was happening.

Looking around, I spotted the debris dissipating faster where Samuel was critically inspecting the members of his old team mutually mauling each other. Well, I did a pretty bad job of helping Arcanine in his task, so it was more of a one sided beat-down for now, but the blame was on me.

'_For fuck's sake look at me running around like a headless chicken. We really are leagues apart. __It__'s not even funny at this point._' I thought as I reached Samuel's side. Just in time to see the massive fire type in full movement, chased by a _swarm_ – no, a fucking metric ton – of the swift stars.

"Arcanine! Dig and emerge just after!" At my call, the canine's front paws were enveloped with a sort of light brown substance and he burrowed into a chasm he had opened ahead of him. The moderately sized fissure then closed in on itself, the homing missiles digging a crater that looked as deep as I was tall and twice as large.

The fire type propelling itself in the air two seconds following my previous call validated it, as a stomp of the kangaskhan's right foot – also encased by the previously mentioned light brown substance – heralded an earthquake of massive proportion. Jagged slabs of rock rose and intertwined in a deadly dance, menacing to crush the temporary air-prone fire type as he inspected the uneven terrain.

Quickly giving it a once over as well, I spotted a good enough landing route. "Arcanine!" His eyes briefly met mine just before attaining the peak of his jump. "Hide behind those rocks over there and use double team! Spread them out and use flare blitz when you've got an opening."

A barely perceptible nod later, Arcanine landed on his fore legs and slipped into an Extreme Speed. Not a second too soon, because another luminescent blue orb of energy crashed down on his previous position, setting off and scattering debris and shrapnel of hard basalt in the air.

Reappearing into view, the canine made a beeline for his opponent. The kangaskhan then proceeded to use her first physical attack of the match, as the same blue light from the previous focus blasts encased her right fist, cyan sparks of lightning dancing around it. A fist she used to impact a monstrously powerful hammer arm into Arcanine's side, his massive form bending with the blow.

A nasty grimace crept up on my features at the vicious blow. '_No_…_ this isn't what I imagined it would be like…" _I berated myself as I felt the beginning of tears welling up at the corner of my eyes.

Struggling to not look down at my feet, I kept my eyes locked on the knocked out Arcanine. The fur on his left side was singed and ruffled, although no blood was present, strangely.

*_Poof_* I heard as the prone body of Arcanine suddenly went up in smoke. '_What on earth is-'_

A spectacularly loud 'whoosh' heralded the ignition of a massive fire behind the kangaskhan. Scratch that – the _gargantuan conflagration_ erupting was almost thick and bright enough to completely shroud Arcanine into its dark blue blaze.

The next sequence of events was nearly too fast for my eyes to track, yet it was still manageable. I attributed that to the fact that both pokemons – although still in the top percentile of their species – were far past their peak.

Arcanine's forelegs met the ground a few feet away from the kangaskhan, who had begun to turn around – but, well… her physiognomy didn't leave her a lot of leeway for everything concerning agility. The powerful appendages then propelled the massive hound forward to crash into the stocky and thickset back of his opponent, leaving multiple spiderweb cracks at the point of launch.

A shimmering white aura appeared around the kangaskhan's heavily built frame, lighting up even brighter where the flare blitz had impacted her dorsal portion.

After what felt like minutes but probably translated into only a fraction of a second in the real world, a terrific crack resonated around the clearing and the hulking shape of the normal type bent at the hinder part, where it expended what looked like all the force of a rocket flying off. The beast of a pokemon ended up skipping over the ground several times before killing off the rest of the momentum by digging a furrow for several meters, eventually coming to a stop.

Shaking away the awe I felt, I shrieked, "Don't let up! Close combat!"

"Arf!" Arcanine barked and closed his eyes, concentrating on bathing himself into the dark brown aura beginning to spread unto his furred form.

A few seconds passed where Arcanine stood immobile, quietly harnessing the fighting type energy he'd need for such a consummate technique.

Throwing a look the kangaskhan's way, I spied rubble stirring around the general area of her temporary burial. I was getting ready to yell at Arcanine to hurry up before I felt a tremendous disturbance in the air. I turned back his way to see him open his eyes, a halo of fiery and dark brown energy expanding out from his battle lusting gaze. There were bursts of flame licking at the side of his maw, peeled back into an intimidating snarl.

With a low growl, the fire hound catapulted himself into his opponent who was just beginning to redress herself. A shuffle of cloth and two brief stomps of Samuel's foot, followed by a slide forward made me quizzically look at him from the corner of my eye. It was promptly followed by the normal type throwing herself back first into Arcanine's snout.

They were both sent tumbling on the dirt. Arcanine took less time to disentangle himself and launched himself at his opponent in a whirlwind of claws, headbutts and bites.

Absently, I could hear some orders being yelled out by Samuel, but none of them registered to my brain as anything but gibberish.

Still, the first few hits Arcanine had gotten in seemed to have been the result of surprise or maybe superior agility at best. However, for each few strikes he rained on his foe, she'd throw in a comet punch that obviously _hurt _– definitely more than my partner's hits did.

As much as I was amazed by the son-et-lumiere of red, brown and white sparks the clash of their aura generated, I needed to put a stop to it. We were losing at this game.

"Arcanine, backpedal and pepper her with flame bursts." The battlefield held no objective we needed to fight over, so ground could be given easily. His gaze having lost that frightening battle crazed quality, my partner kept his eyes locked on the savagely powerful form of his opponent.

Close Combat had been the subject of multiple studies after it had been discovered some decades ago in Kalos, by Gurkinn Marchessault, the elder monk of the tower of mastery in Shalour. It was less of a conventional attack and more of a status move, if Samuel's papers on the subject were anything to go by. The move amounted to saturating the pokemon's aura with fighting-type energy which led to a berserking high most users couldn't come down from before collapsing. The fact that Arcanine could slip away from it so easily spoke of frankly absurd mental discipline and excellent training.

Apparently Samuel had apprenticed under the man in his youth. I even managed to dig up a recording of his semi-final battle in the 943 Indigo Conference – forty-second edition. A battle where the same Arcanine I was commandeering had single-handedly annihilated four of his opponent's pokemon and used the technique to great proficiency, at the cost however, of an injury that ruled him out of the finale.

But that's a story for another time, I thought as I warily witnessed Arcanine weave through the powerful assault of the opposing juggernaut. Loyal to his decades of being one of the most experienced pokemons in history, he didn't try to hold his ground. He instead moved backward, drawing the kangaskhan in and keeping her at arm's length.

Yet, the flurry of multiple elemental punches did reach Arcanine in another way. Electricity jumped through the now frail inch thick fiery aura coat of my partner, making a small crackle of electricity travel through his fur. It was honestly crazy how she did probably more damage with that than the canine did with his flame bursts.

Samuel stomped twice once again and the kangaskhan stopped in her furious advance.

"Jump away!" I called, prompting him to do so as a wickedly jagged slab of basalt emerged from under where Arcanine would have been had it not been for my warning.

'_Okay, first time definitely wasn't a fluke. He's giving her orders __by stomping or sliding his foot on the ground. I think I read about it before __in fanfiction__, so it probably is common to use a pokemon's seismic sense __in battling __that way__. __Maybe I could try to disorient her with it?_'

Looking back to the battle, I noted that we were back to the earlier standoff, with Arcanine launching flame bursts and the kangaskhan killing them on stone edges. I needed to change the status quo, that was a given. The question here was – what could I do?

The answer was obvious.

…

"I give up!" I said in a clear voice.

I could do nothing else.

Arcanine looked back at me, an expression of surprise etched on his canine features. I couldn't see the kangaskhan as she was shielded behind a few menhirs but I felt her oppressing aura dimming a bit. Samuel… I didn't know, but this was a call I wouldn't regret.

Inspecting the utterly dismantled area of the battle, I absently noted the contrast between the now jagged and uneven field and the smooth dirt I was still upright on, safe and immaculate behind the now disappeared psychic contraption.

I stood hesitantly for at least half a minute with my hair fluttering across my face in the wind. Alone with the sounds of birds chirping, the cool wind across my face, the serenity of the grassy reserve and the knowledge that this was real. When I finally concluded that I was not dreaming, I walked over to Arcanine.

Gently putting my hands on his furred shoulder, I noted how warm it felt and admired the feeling of his taut and lean muscles rippling at each heaving breath. After a few seconds, he turned to face me and we looked at each other. Where before the battle, there was affection and kind amusement, I could detect a hint of respect in his gaze. Respect for _me_. Me!

The sensation of euphoria that was threatening to overwhelm me was suddenly eradicated by the altogether less pleasant sensation of a slimy and viscous tongue dragging across my face.

I froze in disgust.

Arcanine barked in appreciation.

I sighed, a weight on my shoulders I wasn't aware of suddenly disappearing. The tension leaving my body was promptly overtook by a full bellied laughter, originating from a mere snort of disbelief.

"I must say," an approaching voice said to my right, "when you first suggested having this battle to me, I was less than agreeing." Samuel stopped in his tracks a few feet in front of me, a pleased expression dancing across his face. "I still don't know how you managed to make me cave in to it, but I don't think I regret accepting, now. It's been good for the both of them. And you as well, apparently."

Where before, Ash would have rubbed his head in faux-humility or grew cocky and boastful, I knew it wasn't what he would have liked to hear. "I did have some compelling arguments. Although I would say the seven days and nights of both subtle and blunt constant pleading did the most." His smile seemed to gain a bit of a twitchy quality at that.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it was cool. But I could tell this wasn't a real battle, you know? I'm sure you could have used stone edge on the predicted path of Arcanine or maybe I could have gone near you and confused her by sliding my foot or something." He raised an eyebrow at my defeatist tone, shortly followed by the other at me having caught on to his thing. "But at the end of the day, you didn't really give a lot of instructions to your partner and I, I- well… Arcanine did all the work. Most of the damage Kangaskhan suffered was the result of his own liberal interpretation of my orders. Like, half of what he did wasn't what I had in mind at the time."

Samuel seemed genuinely surprised at my rendition of the battle and appeared to be ready to cheer me up or give me some empty platitudes, however I continued.

"But that won't stop me from getting better," I said as I stroked Arcanine's bruised ribs. It was times like these, witnessing a giant fire breathing dog hissing in slight pain that the reality of my new reality crashed down on me. "As amazing as this champion here has been, he's no partner of mine. He's yours." I rose my gaze to meet Samuel's pensive one. "I proposed this little spar or whatever it is because I wanted a taste of what high level battling felt like. I realize now it might have been a little too soon, but I don't regret it." My hand snaked down to my hip as I lightly caressed Eole's plain pokeball and Sedna's scubaball. "I've got my own teammates already, after all. I'll get more and what we will accomplish together… The things we will accomplish together, nobody will do the same and I'll be proud to call them ours."

Determination was then taken over by sheepishness in the form of an embarrassed smile. "That will take time, though. For now, you've kind of got us at a disadvantage. I learned a lot from our bout, though."

Samuel raised an eyebrow at that. "Indeed? And what, did you learn exactly?"

I mulled it over, idly watching Arcanine licking his wounds. "Honestly, I've recently developed a fond appreciation for 'hoping for the best and preparing for the worst' and I thought it might have been enough to succeed in life. But you took me aback when you finally said you would accept a battle with two of your pokemons earlier so I didn't really have the time or the means to set anything up. So I guess 'expect the worst and prepare for even worse than that' might be the way to go from now on."

The wisest man I'd ever known smiled at my summary. "That is an excellent lesson to take out of this experience, my boy," he said with a satisfied upturn of his lips. He looked ready to add something, but the strident beeping of an alarm I had set on my wristwatch interrupted him – It was an ugly thing and I was really ashamed to admit I was wearing one of those, but X-Transceivers, abomination to elegance that they were, weren't exactly Pokemart great value yet, at least not before a few more years. And obviously, phones weren't a thing in this world.

"Whoops, sounds like the lasagnas are ready, Samuel. Care to join me once you care for their wounds?" I amicably proposed as I pointed at Arcanine and the kangaskhan I was instructed not to look in the eye.

He guffawed in some sort of blissful relief I didn't quite get. "My boy, if your cooking is even half good as was dear Delia's, then I'll gladly take you up on that!"

I laughed heartily at that. One thing that I had made a point of at the beginning of our interactions was to sometimes crack various jokes in Delia's memory. You might think it shameful or whatever but I came to care for the woman after a time. This was how I used to deal with grief in my previous life, something I found out people who genuinely cared about the deceased would gladly accept and sometimes appreciate. And even if Samuel was a tad taken aback at first, he seemed to agree with me on that point at least. I had no doubt he had enough experience with grief, after all. So, this coping method or whatever you'd call it would definitely not have been a first for him.

Fondness that surprised me in its genuine quality slipped into my voice. "Yeah, don't I know it… You know I found her secret cookbook, yeah?" His eyes glinted in interest – or was it greed? "Yup, she even has some secret ingredients and extra step in her recipes I don't usually see online."

"Look, Ash. My boy. My boy…" He pinned my shoulders with his hands, all his decades of experience in negotiating deals resurfacing in his tone. "I can do a lot for you. Not many doors would stay closed when an Oak comes knocking. If you just-"

"Oh sorry professor," I said, trying to keep the mischievousness out of my voice. "I need to hurry home or it will burn. I wouldn't want to ruin _the best lasagna of your life!_ They are freaking expensive too." I grumbled the last part.

Spinning on my heels, I crashed onto Arcanine's neck, giving him the biggest hug I had given to anyone in this life and hightailed it out of there.

* * *

'_Caves and forests are a natural part of our ecosystem, we can't just go and destroy them because a few people each year get killed within them. __Yes, i__t has been registered that over two hundred people e__very__ year are __found dead__ in the various for__e__sts of Sinnoh – __only __seventy__-__four__ percent of them __being__ trainers. __And ye__t__, e__very year, twenty-two thousand people are killed in hit and run accidents. So does that mean we're going to destroy cars too?_

_Of course not. Because cars help everyone in their daily lives. The forests are no more than large hindrances, only patrolled by someone with pokemon, or someone foolish enough to walk into them._

_But what happens when we destroy the forests? All the creatures native to them will begin to move elsewhere, looking for new territory to claim. Don't you think it's better to keep predators away in the forests, rather than inviting them into the towns? Can you imagine your trip to work each day if the railway station had a __vespiqueen__ nest in it? What if a __luxray__ claims that an office building is its new territory, and kills everyone that tries to go to work?_

_It's safer to keep the forests and caves as they are. Sure, a few hundred people might die each year, but really, isn't that better than the alternative of having whole towns wiped out by our own actions?'_

_Aaron Ember, 33__rd__ Lilly of The Valley Conference's Champion, currently Sinnoh's second Elite Four member._

I couldn't help but whistle in appreciation after finishing the scientific essay in my hands. I remembered Aaron from the anime to be nothing but a goofy, overexcited airhead that kept annoying the Gym Leader of Sunnyshore whose name I never particularly cared to remember.

Turned out Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, high ranked ACE trainers or anyone remotely affiliated to the League who was expected to be under public scrutiny was also due to have minimal credentials in the scientific community.

This paper in particular – Aaron Ember's submission following his winning of the year 988's edition of the Lilly of the Valley Conference – was treating of his opposition to the proposed plans to destroy Eterna forest due to the rising number of trainer deaths.

I sighed in contentment, taking another deep breath, feeling the intoxicating scent of fresh paper and ink blanketing over me. Looking around, I was once again in awe of the literal _walls_ of hard cover books and of the hundreds of crack-full drawers of scientific essays submitted to Samuel for eventual feedback. This was heaven, there was no other explanation. The closest approximation I could try to make was with Spongebob's basement library, but in real life. There were even ladders that rolled sideways!

I eventually learned that the Oak's private library was one of the most extensive collections in the world. As in, even museums, public libraries, the various foreign Leagues' archives, etc… All that jazz. This room I was given access to was supposedly on par with them, going as far as to have unique handwritten volumes dating back as far as before the Kalos-Unova war, some three thousand years ago – coincidentally around two thousand years before the current calendar's use had been widespread. How they were able to conserve them, I had no idea. But I couldn't really bring myself to care too much since I was prohibited from entering that particular section, and I was sure I could pick Samuel's brain for the important lines.

Anyway, I've been here for around five weeks now. I honestly expected life in Pallet Town to be boring, dull, monotone, everything Ash's memories said it would be.

It was total bullshit. As much as I felt sympathy for the kid I had essentially been usurping for the past six weeks or so, he had been an absolute wuss.

Life here… It was everything I imagined heaven would be. There were pokemon. Pokemon, for god's sake! Pokemon I could interact with, pokemon I could play with, pokemon I could touch, pokemon I could hear, pokemons I could see. The smell was for most of the time repulsive, and the time I tried to taste a wooper had gotten me a slimy tongue for the rest of the day and a red tail-shaped mark on the cheek for thrice that time.

But I digress! I felt like I was shaping up to be the person I had always wanted to become in my previous life. Perhaps I could have achieved something approaching that since I was seventeen at the time and had a pretty good head-start on that, in majority due to having a wonderfully supportive family.

However, in this world… Man, you know when you always think about all the things you could have done better in the past? Like, getting better grades, working out more regularly, learning a new language or two, learning proper solfege and music notes instead of crudely throwing yourself at the guitar because you thought chicks would dig that more than the flute? Yeah? Well, when you're reborn with memories of your regrets still fresh, if there is _one thing_ you're not lacking in, it's motivation.

Every day, except on Saturday, I'd wake up at 0500 sharp, having slept at no more late than 2200 the night before. Preparing breakfast for Eole, Sedna and myself, I'd read up on various subjects I suspected would come in handy for my upcoming journey – these days, I was focusing on behavioral patterns of territorial pokemons. Generally speaking, the most widespread species around Kanto to watch out for were beedrill, persian, rhydon, scyther, golbat, pinsir and victreebell. Evidently, these were merely those you would undoubtedly stumble upon in forests, caves and meadows. Kanto was full of more exotic species each deadlier than the last, but it was less urgent to document myself on them for the moment, since it involved fire types near Cinnabar, ice types near the Seafom islands, or poison types near the swamps of route 14, west of Fuschia, but again, I would probably cross their paths once only.

Anyways, after a hearty breakfast and a short study session filled with Eole constantly distracting me with his cute munching and chirping sounds, I would strap the little togepi to my back with a baby backpack I found lying around in the house and head down to the corral to feed and play with Sedna who was "apprenticing" under Jeb, Samuel's seaking. Who I might add, is the oldest and most powerful member of his kind ever recorded. This was a golden opportunity I would be a fool to pass up on, and it only took a staring contest between Sedna, Jeb and I for the magnificent trevally to nod at my request. It would have been a cherished memory if not for Sedna pushing me into the lake with a rib bruising tackle and Jeb body slamming me, nearly making me drown in the process… What a goofball…

I would then jog a lap around the pasture, Eole encouraging me along the way with his joyful babbling. I was limiting myself to one until I could finish the lap in less than thirty minutes. Fortunately, I knew how to pace myself, which allowed me to complete it even on my first day, which I had timed at fifty one minutes. I had been a hair away from achieving my goal the day before yesterday – Friday – and was hoping I could set up a new one today.

After that, I would forego a shower since I was supposed to report to Edgar, the head rancher who would assign the multiple interns, workers and I various tedious tasks for the day that would leave me covered in grime anyway. Thankfully, everyone was on a regular rotation, which helped in keeping my job engaging. It paid well and it was interesting for a time, but I'd be bored to death or get hyposomia if all I did was shoveling miltank dung.

I was really grateful for Samuel arranging the job for me, but very soon, I came to realize it was more for a lack of personnel accustomed to Samuel's old team members, who presented the most danger to feed and interact with, and less because of any good will on his part. For real, the old man could be sly that way.

Naturally, Gary and younger Ash had been regular visitors since very young, Samuel having presented them personally to Dragonite, Infernus the charizard, and the deadliest of them all, Boss, Samuel's starter. Let me tell you, that nidorino was a monster, I couldn't describe it any other way. The cornerstone of an ex-champion's team couldn't have been anything but that, yes. However, this one…

He was deadly. Of the few tapes I had managed to find of Samuel's old battling ways, Boss appeared in only one. The Conference Finale's. Down to only two pokemons against four of the tricky, relatively unknown at the time and unpredictable ghosts of Agatha Phantom, Samuel had unleashed Boss onto the battlefield.

The rest of the match was a bloodbath, how it managed to poison a crobat and make a gengar scream the way that one did, I had no idea. And I would probably be better off not knowing, but those images would forever be engraved in my mind.

I sighed at the reminder of my screeching wristwatch that I needed to get back to work, the weight of the hardy morning I had had herding the tauros around settling back on my aching lower back and butt-cheeks.

And what do you know, I was on Boss duty today. Actually, I only shared the task with two other girls who I haven't interacted too much with, so it was my turn every three days. There were more than thirty other workers employed by the corral after all.

After neatly putting back the spiral corded stack of papers where I had fished it out of earlier, I carefully caressed a dozing Eole's spiky hair from his spot on the floor beside where I was sat. I couldn't exactly bring him with me to where I was going.

Closing the door behind me, I nodded at Bart, the archivist in charge. A great conversationalist, if somewhat of an unassuming man you wouldn't look twice at if you didn't catch the spark of manic intelligence in his eyes – red, a color I learned could occur naturally in this world.

I recovered my heavy boots and made to climb into the pickup, igniting it and driving down the beaten path to the west most part of the corral – as well as Pallet Town's, coincidentally.

Soon enough, the reason for Boss's sheltering in so remote a place became apparent as I approached my destination; green patches of grass and luxurious bushes gradually thinned out to make way for arid and barren land.

It was always a humbling experience for me to come here, I thought as I killed the engine and got off the car. And how could it not be? It's not everyday you get to witness such a display of destruction and- actually, no. Calling it destruction wouldn't do justice to the atmosphere of sheer nothingness this place emanated. Life was quite simply unable to exist in here. No plants, no bugs and shortly no more breathable air.

I shook the fog of awe out of my eyes and made a beeline for the shed just before the fence. Both were made of stainless steel, teflon and a sort of plastic I didn't care to know the name of. I found it hilarious when I learned it was made of the same material as cooking pans and skillets but I soon came to appreciate that fact.

Grabbing one of the yellow airtight jumpsuit and helmet, I swapped them with my heavy duty clothes and got out from the backdoor exit, bypassing the high fence surrounding the acre of land. It was actually my first time going on Boss duty alone. Something about making sure I knew every step of the procedure before having a solo go at it or whatever.

Looking around, I mused that I'd probably never see anything as unique as this landscape in all of my future travels – blistering rocks in various shade of acidic green, orange and yellow, with some ponds of a liquid that looked like water. Key word being _looked_, I wouldn't trust anything coming out of there with an ocean between us. The first time I got a proper look at it, I was reminded of a documentary about a desert in southern Eritrea, back in my world. The drone shoots had been particularly awe inspiring but nothing could compare to the real deal – or at least as close to it as it could get.

After a few minutes of navigating the mess of dangerously fragile dirt patches between the ponds, I spotted a purple mountain of muscles ahead. Considering the blasted and flat terrain, it wasn't hard to spot the massive form of the nidorino.

The closer I got to his position, the drier the ground was. Some spots of dirt were smeared with a clear substance that glistened under the harsh rays of the sun at its current zenith, wavering between a rainbow of colors like you'd see on bleach soaked ground or something like that.

His ears flickered and he opened an eye, tracking my advance with his piercing, pitch black gaze. He was literally towering over me before even getting up, this was ridiculous.

My breath was steady, which defied how nervous I really felt and so I tried not to let fear filter in my voice. "Ayyy, Boss-man! How you doing today?" I cheerfully greeted him.

The nidorino rose from his prone position, as colossal muscles rippled and bones cracked like a short automatic gun burst. Globs of viscous purple poison dripping down from his pores reminding me once again of the feeling of unadulterated _danger_ emanating from him. His heavy steps thundered on the stale ground as he approached the comically large stainless steel bowl on the side – more of a kid's pool, really. An expectant look and a snort later had me hurrying to fumble for my backpack – it was more of a refrigerated case with straps, if one got to be blunt.

I then proceeded to unceremoniously dump three hundred pounds of meat unto the 'bowl' before walking back to a respectful distance, fascinated by the carnage of sinew and blood taking place in front of me. Which left me the time to contemplate the now not-so-novel existence of weight reduced and space expanded devices. I didn't particularly care to learn anything about it but for its most practical uses. When you thought about it, it wasn't all that much of a stretch to imagine going from pokeballs to other more… mundane means for the technology to facilitate people's daily lives.

My attention went back to Boss as a tingling sensation in my temple prompted me to turn his way, just in time to catch him burping out a purplish cloud of miasma. Having eaten his fill for the moment, the withered poison type let some purple liquid dribble down from his horn onto his remaining meal and curled back into his spot. With the little difference that his ears now stood at attention facing me, obviously calling for me to come out with whatever I had to say.

I chuckled. "That's an interesting way to marinate your steak, buddy."

He snorted at that and I hoped it was more of a 'get on with it-humph' and not a 'get the fuck out of here before I skewer you-humph'.

Embarrassed at getting called out on my feeble attempt at conversation, a sigh escaped my lips and I dropped on a patch of ground that seemed relatively free of any potentially corrosive substance. Sitting cross-legged a good distance away from him – away from danger – I squared my shoulders and asked what had me bugged for quite a few nights now.

"Do you ever regret growing to be this powerful?" I blurted out before I could backtrack.

The mountain of muscles furrowed his brow and a great pressure cladded my very being, persuading me that lowering my eyes was the best course of action. Breathing was getting difficult by the second, which led me to a brief bout of panic until I remembered I was wearing appropriate gear. But I didn't want to back down. Partly out of pride but mostly because I had no doubts about my inability to outrun him anyway.

It wasn't until I realized my knees were shaking that the nidorino chuffed gently, another cloud of miasma escaping him, and stood back up again. He then took two steps forward – each one dwarfing four of my strides – and stopped in front of me, rooting me on the spot and drawing my gaze back up to meet his.

Thus followed a stare-down the likes of which I had hoped I wouldn't have to experience again after Latios. At the very least, not before I would be able to properly fight back, be it with my pokemons protecting me, or maybe figuring out how to use Aura. Although I had made literally no headway whatsoever on that. One would think that with me being accustomed to being an average human, a novel and foreign type of energy would be pretty damn easy to isolate! Well, it was obviously not. Meditation also didn't do shit. Or maybe I simply wasn't able to attain a sufficient level of concentration. That made sense actually… I never was one for being overly focused on a task. Though, I had a knack for dealing with overwrought chaotic settings and I took pride in being able to multitask and keep my cool even in the most dire of situations.

But… as I was harshly reminded by another gruff snort from my interlocutor, I had this fatuous tendency of letting my mind drift away when it wasn't appropriately occupied.

Focusing back on the pitch black gaze of Boss, I steeled my gaze and my voice. "I'm sorry if you think I'm disrespecting you by asking this, Boss. I also realize you don't particularly like to be reminded of it."

His unwavering glare hadn't let up at all. "It's just… you already know I intend to go on a journey myself, right? Well, I also wish for my future companions to be at least as powerful as you are. Before that, though… I need to know if any of them would ever end up regretting their decisions."

I exhaled slowly, steadily, and squared my shoulders before repeating myself. "So, Boss. Do you ever regret growing to be this powerful?"

Once again, the prolonged bout of fierce eye contact went up a notch. And just as I prepared to finally listen to my instincts and hightail it out of here, the nidorino issued a short roar of what I assumed was frustration and slammed its tail on the ground. He then plopped back down on the ground and his stare gained a new far away impression, prompting the crushing pressure around me to ultimately alleviate and let me breathe a bit easier.

The behemoth looked down at me after a minute and I felt the slightest twinge of respect I wasn't exactly anticipating to find followed by a nod of approval. His eyes boring down on me went back to their previous melancholy and he gave me a shake of the head before he closed his eyes with, this time, an air of finality.

I took the act of dismissal for what it was, getting back up on my feet before giving a bow in respect and marching back to the shed, intent on taking a decontamination shower. Words of understanding and support were definitely not needed here, for I would not comprehend any of his sorrows before a long time.

* * *

_Thunk_

A groan of pain escaped me as the whole length of my right arm was bathed in another bout of numbing pain. Ten weeks of near-religious, dedicated, everyday practice and I still felt every bit of discomfort like it was the first day.

Who would have thought that role playing games would be wrong about anything, huh? Like Archer class characters needing mostly agility and dexterity. That was frankly one of the worst scams in history, as would attest literally every single muscle on my upper right side. It took quite a bit of muscle to counterweight a bow's tensile strength.

This little foray of mine into archery wasn't just me trying all the things I wished to do before I died. No, I didn't have enough time for that. And to be honest, being a jack-of-all-trade was overrated, it hadn't let anyone excel in anything as far as I knew. What I needed was to specialize in the strict minimum of fields that would let me achieve my goals.

And one of those fields was self defense, inevitably. I realize that trainers were expected to rely on their teams to fend off any danger they would encounter in the wilderness, but it didn't sit well with me to be anything akin to a burden. And I wasn't arrogant or lacking enough in self awareness to think I'd be anything but that without having some ki, prana, nen, chakra, haki or really anything that would let me have an actual fighting chance against the monsters I would encounter and those I would seek out to defy.

Which, considering I still hadn't made any headway towards Aura, made me think of going down the Kiritsugu Emiya route. Namely, guns. A lot of those. Or anything that goes boom. A lot of those too would be just as welcomed.

However, my hopes were soon quashed down after the slightest bit of research. Turns out firearms were illegal for civilians and all trainers bellow Ranger grade to own. The prerequisites for a regular concealed carry license including qualification for a regional Conference, passing a League sanctioned evaluation and a minimum military service of eighteen months made for a particularly unattractive option. And I doubted even the most masterfully done of forgeries could stand up to verification when less than a hundred trainers or so registered for the Kanto Ranger boot-camp each year. I still intended to try and get one at the very least of course, but that would warrant more dubious sources.

That left me with the Shirou Emiya route. Namely, one of bows. But sadly without the prospect of a potential harem down the line.

The bows I didn't know jack about except for a nostalgic affection for the archery event in _Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games _and a love for the Fate series.

From what little I knew, the bows of this world hadn't undergone any specific revolution when compared to their earthen brethrens. Even the top of the line one I was handling right now wouldn't look otherworldly if you saw it in a random televised competition.

It hadn't even cost anything from what I had gathered. Needing but to ask Samuel to pull some strings. I'm sure I could have gotten it plus a few favors directly from the League, but I wasn't one to simply forget a grudge. And what they did warranted every bit of vitriol at my disposition. Those favors would be cashed in at a lot of expanse.

Although it didn't mean I couldn't admire the fine craftsmanship behind it. A true marvel of technology, that it was. Dexterously – or at least I hoped it looked as deft as I imagined it to be – I collapsed it on itself, going from being nearly as tall as I was to the size of my forearm.

I snapped it back to its regular length and extended one of the shotgun-shell-like ammunition from a pouch to my side. Quickly nocking the now two-feet-long arrow, I loosed it on the exhale with a current draw weight of forty five pounds.

_tHunK_

Another groan escaped me, this one of displeasure at having missed the relatively pristine target. I hated seeing it mocking me with its derpy surface, maliciously free of any punctures. Still, I was making progress. It was tedious and time-consuming but not that hard to develop a marginally satisfying aim, as I would prove myself from time to time when I would go back to training on a twenty pound draw weight and a twenty meters distance.

'_Meh_,' I thought as I repeated the 'extend bow and arrow, notch and loose' routine once again.

_Thunk_

A smile split my face at the delightfully crisp sound of success.

* * *

_Beep_

I clocked down Eole's time – a respectably improved twenty seven seconds when compared to last week's nineteen.

"You're on your own now, Sedna."

Careful not to cross Kisei's still active Leech Life, I got around Samuel's parasect and approached a panting Eole, scooping him in my arms in the process before making my way back to Jeb's side. The poor little guy was spent after the intense workout.

"C'mon Sedna! I know you can keep it up longer!" I exclaimed after the forty second mark was crossed, with Eole cheering just as enthusiastically, having gotten his breathing back under control.

Our encouragements seemed to have the intended effect, the fire inside the little feebas' eyes buoying in intensity as the half-feet-wide column of water she had been launching steadied after a slight wavering. The critical eyes of both Jeb and I hadn't left her form either.

It was a somewhat complex exercise I had conceived after my first assessment of Eole and Sedna's respective capabilities. An assessment that let me draw quite a few conclusions. First of all being the obvious level disparity between my two teammates.

Eole having just hatched, was still but a few weeks old at the time, while Sedna – being two years old if Samuel's estimation was correct – had been building up muscle mass trying to survive an ocean littered with tentacool, gyarados, pelliper and all manners of predators.

Following that came the judgment of what path should their individual skill-sets turn to. A frustrating endeavor given the prosaic amount of information I could dig up on how both their species were raised, on account of togepi's rarity, and feebas' lack of audacious enough trainers willing to go through the effort of actually raising one without the assurance of knowing they would eventually evolve into milotic. My lip curved in disdain and sagacity at that. Their loss, my gain.

Naturally, with cheating being unavailable to me, I had no other choice but take the only other way I knew to deal with obstacles – barreling straight through them. Sedna, Eole and I would forge our own paths. It wouldn't do for one intending to go beyond the pinnacle of what this world allowed to take the easy way in after all.

Consequently, I judged it safe – or at least sane – that being a pure water type, Sedna could do with having a larger volume of water and more firepower at her disposal. Jeb the seaking seemed to think it appropriate as well. And let me tell you, guidance from such a majestic creature was more than welcome for us. I had also toyed with the idea of unlocking her latent draconic genes by learning Dragon Pulse, but putting too much on her plate so soon seemed unwise.

For Eole, there wasn't much I could do either, much to my disappointment. He was but a babe even by pokemon standards, add to that the fact that his battling style would have to be entirely revamped once his wings grew and that left me with precious little in terms of what I _could_ do. Fortunately, there was a saving grace; his healing ability. And more power was more power, more control was more control, those were facts.

Even though his work had been patchwork at best, it was a fact he had mended my burned forearm back on the island. From there, anybody could determine he was already fairly proficient with them. And a somewhat rudimentary search about pokemon healing ability later had me shook.

Apparently, the requirements for even _attempting_ to learn the practice were so high it wasn't considered a worthwhile investment in time for an overwhelming majority of trainers. That certainly explained the quasi-monopoly exerted by PokeCenters on this world's pokemon care. With the chanseys and audino bred and trained by the Joy school of nursing and medicine supposedly being one of the only species naturally inclined to attain the minimum degree of proficiency acceptable for healing other pokemons.

A degree of proficiency that Eole apparently had achieved in his first few days of living. How else could you explain the feat he accomplished on a human with only the potential for unlocking Aura, not having even reached it. It also opened a whole other can of worm in the form of my frustrating ineptitude to come clutch and grasping the elusive energy, as well as an opportunity to collect a lot of street-cred with the scientific community, but that's for when I've actually achieved anything of note.

Phasing out of my thoughts enough to focus back on Sedna's ever increasing struggle, I checked the atrocity at my wrist – fifty five seconds – a far cry from last week's forty. As well as a dancing gig for my heart when put in contrast to the 148 seconds she could go for without the handicap of Kisei parasiting her efforts.

You see, I liked the idea of having a purpose to training, for a man without a goal was a rotting one as they said. Which let shine – in my humble opinion – all the daft genius behind this exercise.

I needed Sedna to have more firepower at her disposition. Cool, she could have gotten that without my help. My role in this is to help her grow beyond what she could have done without my help. What use could I be if not that?

And you can't surpass your limits without pushing yourself, that's an absolute in life. To push yourself, you need to struggle, to sacrifice time, to sacrifice comfort, to sacrifice the different kind of contentment you could get while being complacent. And what better way for that than to shoulder some handicaps. It's like the parable of the moth and the butterfly – The harder it is for a moth to free itself from its cocoon, the stronger it winds up becoming.

To that end, Kisei was kind enough to accept helping us. With him having just gone through his parasiting cycle, he was able to tone down on his Leech Life's power, which he would cast on Sedna while she trained her Water Gun. Eole's part in this was to try and counteract his teammate's impediment with what I guessed was the move Helping Hand.

It provided Sedna and Eole both with a weekly goal they needed to reach and surpass, as well as a way to tangibly and accurately measure their progress. Additionally, the benefits in increased control and output were obvious to see. As well as a rather sly way to further their bonds and trust against duress early on that could not be overlooked. It was fool-proof, honestly.

A cry from Jeb caught my waning attention once again, signaling that Sedna's jet water had dipped bellow the minimal pressure acceptable. That prompted me to clock her time. A splendid 126 seconds looked back at me from the display on the crime against snazziness at my wrist.

I hurriedly rushed to Sedna's side, finding her naturally sallow form floating lifelessly on her side. I would have thought her dead if not for all the times I caught her doing the exact same thing.

Rolling my eyes, I decided to indulge her. She deserved that much. "Woe! Woe is me! Not thou! Oh my sweetest princess! Thee melts mine heart! Thee, whose every word and action madeth the world swoon at thy mercy! Oh woe is me!" I exclaimed as flamboyantly as possible, racking my brain off of the couple words of archaic english I could remember.

With the back of my hand still dramatically covering my eyes, I glanced down at the little feebas in my arm. Yep, she was blushing up a storm and her big, round eyes gazing back at me were full of pride and confidence. It also helped that cheesiness was balsam for her ego.

Eole wiggled into the one armed hug, headbutting my chin and making me topple down into the water.

A smile split my face at the heart-warming picture of success.

* * *

"_Fascinating..._"

My face was kept carefully neutral, not entirely sure what I was supposed to think or say.

"_Ash, do you have any idea how much these results differ from __prediction__?" _

"Er..." I fidgeted a bit. "I'm pretty sure you're going to tell me either way, aren't you?"

Lena's expression displayed on the monitor darkened a tad. "_I don't believe you understand how big a deal this is, Ash_," she began. "_It wouldn't be the first time the diagnosis machine has suffered a bug or miscalculation, but I personally double checked the results. If that wasn't enough, I __also __asked for another set of reading__s__. Do you know what __we __got out __of them__?"_

Oh, so that's why I had been called back to the lab twice last week? Still, the tone of her voice made me squirm a bit more, it reminded me of when my sister berated me for eating her yogurts.

"No, I really don't know, Lena. And you still haven't explained anything." I settled on saying with a snort, slightly exasperated.

"_You're __fully__ healed, Ash._"

…

"Buah…?"

She had the audacity to chortle at me. "_T__hat's the same face I __made__ when I looked at your records!_"The glare I sent her didn't seem effective. "_Oh come off your ass, kid. I've had a hard time flustering you, so let me have this one__,__"_ she said with a teasing smirk.

"Alright, jeez!" I clicked my tongue. "Can we get back to my apparent clean bill of health or what? And what's up with that, by the way? It's only been like, north of two months since then, wasn't it supposed to go on for eight more?" I erratically rapid-fired.

"_Obviously, I was getting to it, kiddo,_" she said with a dramatic sigh. "_Kids these days… always so hasty._"

She sobered up and phased into doctor mode, which was the only way I had to see her taking anything seriously. "_Now, don't get me wrong Ash – this is fantastic news. But I can't possibly report that without having a plausible explanation. So, before we go any further, I'll need you to come clean and tell me exactly how you pulled this off._"

Forcing myself not to fidget this time, I stared at her. "Why are you already suspecting anything on my part, have you even considered this might have been gross incompetence?"

She tutted at me with a reproachful glare. "_Try again kiddo, I was the one in charge of monitoring your progress when you were here._"

"You mentioned bugs or miscalculations earlier, have you been keeping track of things since the beginning?"

"_Yes._"

"What about-"

"_Ash,_" she interrupted. "_Cut it out, this is serious matter._"

A huff escaped me, my temper rising with it. After a few seconds, it came back down. "Look, I like you Lena. And I would feel bad lying to your face." Went unsaid that I didn't think to prepare a believable lie for this situation anyway.

"_And why can't you simply tell the truth exactly?! Ash, this could save lives. If you do have a way to accelerate dialysis treatment, then imagine all the persons that could be helped!_" she said, consternation etched on her features.

To no avail, though. "Lena. This can't be replicated, I have already checked with someone trustworthy and knowledgeable in the field." I wouldn't say she was that 'someone' in case it'd tip her off to our brief conversation on the matter.

"_Oh! '__A __knowledgeable person' he says! And who would that mysterious __benefactor__ be, Ash? I'm dying to know __out here__!_" she pried, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

I gritted my teeth. "Lena…" I began, a hand coming up to rub at my forehead for a second. "I am not sure you know it, but… When that bald nonce came the day I woke up, he was sent by the League. Would you like to know what he was there for?"

At the mention of who I suspected was her father, a nasty grimace etched itself on her face, her fingers unconsciously rising to touch the burns covering her right side.

Steeling myself, I continued "He wasn't alone, he had a ninetales with him. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to recall it or not, but he also had a voice recorder. And I clearly remember when he said the use of Hypnosis was League sanctioned – by Champion Lance at that."

The yearning for revenge returned with a fury, accompanied by their repressed feelings of helplessness. "I will become a murderer before letting it happen again."

Refocusing on the situation at hand, I gazed intensely at Lena's horrified face. "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. Lena, I have no doubt that if those fuckers catch a whiff of what I know, they will come hounding for blood like the dogs they are. My mind is my own. It is mine only. I have secrets I intend to carry to my grave. And if they ever manage to pry them from me, I really have no idea what I may end up doing."

I stared at her.

She stared at me.

I stared at her.

A deep exhale came from the speakers."_Alright..._" she muttered. "_Alright, __you've made your point. I need some time. I'll get back __at__ you."_ With that, she hung up on me.

A few beats of silence passed before I sighed heavily, powering off the monitor and feeling my whole body deflate. A groan then escaped me at the realization that I couldn't recline on my seat, for it was a stool.

Quickly getting up before I could dwell too much on what I had done, I headed out of the comm room, nodding at Carol, the coordinator – the boring, working type, not the cool training ones.

Naturally I failed to contain my inner turmoil. Still, I felt somewhat justified. There was something to be said about trusting too much or too little. I think I remember a quote that goes 'You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.' Let it be said that I was currently living in torment precisely from deciding to trust someone.

The truth here was that I actually _needed_ that closeness with someone, however short-lived it proved to be. God only knows how much I tried to repress those feelings, to drown them by laser-focusing on my goals like any proper adult would, but I painfully missed my family back on Earth.

Here, I had with me Eole, Sedna and Samuel. But that wasn't enough. Lena had also been wonderful with me back when I was bedridden. Sue me for trying to fill that void with someone that seemed willing, and it's not like I was hurting her. Even that little stunt earlier was somewhat calculated, no matter how much of a jump in the dark it seemed to be. She wasn't directly affiliated with the League, was emotionally invested in me, and her professionalism wasn't to be questioned. Neither was her clear distaste for Blaine.

…

Calming the raging storm that was my state of mind proved to be a difficult endeavor that night. One I managed to accomplish, however hard it ended up being.

Of course, I was already aware of my most recent breakthrough in Aura mastering. It would be horribly goofy from me otherwise. What I had failed to predict however, was how fast it would act on my metabolism.

Proof being, my freshly clean bill of health. It was faint at the beginning, but I received definite confirmation back when the adrenaline of my first battle against Samuel had settled down. It was when I was pulling the lasagna dish out of the oven that I had my first epiphany. Or rather, it was after the burn I had suffered from me not caring to wear a kitchen glove had healed. It was gone by the time Samuel showed up at the door.

When I reviewed the battle in my head before going to bed, I remembered the clarity with which I was able to perceive Arcanine's movements, as well as the inexplicable shifts I was feeling whenever a powerful move was used.

I had made progress with Aura, that was a fact.

Every day after that, I would remind myself that not bothering to understand a clearly non-logical – not illogical, but non-logical – concept was precisely what let me get access to it. But I couldn't help hypothesizing and letting my mind wander. Was it perhaps busy reversing more urgent wounds and ailments before it deemed my temporary defective kidneys important enough?

It was doubtful I would get any answers soon, nor would I have the time to properly discover all its intricacies, since I was to take the trainer assessment test in two days. However, maybe that was a good thing. I wouldn't have to constantly look over my shoulder when I would be out there in the wild.

I would finally be able to train alongside my team. I would finally be able to surpass human limitations.

A smile split my face at the thought.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, I was the only applicant in Pallet Town, since all the other kids of age were already out in the world.

And so it was, after the last of my morning runs – two laps timed at 56 minutes, I suspected Aura was at play there since I wouldn't have ever achieved that, even with my old form – that I found myself lounging on a comfortable seat at the reception of the lab's public section. Since Pallet Town wasn't that heavily inhabited, the lab also filled in as a League administration bureau.

I once again checked the obscenity at my wrist to see it was nearly time for my written evaluation. A few seconds later, the power went off inside the building. I waited for the emergency generator to take over, but it came to mind that it was only allotted to the more… tech-savvy portion of the building.

Resigning myself to a potential few hours of extra time wasted, I sighed and slumped down on my seat.

…

A series of rattling sounds reached my ears from the other side of the wall. Since nobody came to notify me of any kind of delay, I listened to my instincts and decided to investigate.

Once I turned the corner to the right of the exit, I was met with a peculiar scene. Some fifty feet away, a middle aged man that looked like a maths teacher was huddled in a corner, trembling in fear. My eyes grew alert and quickly darted around the clearing for a potential danger.

I spied a movement at the man's feet and… well, now I felt silly for thinking it a danger. It was a small, pale yellow rodent with black patches of fur around its ears, collars and tail. The small pichu was currently on all fours, assuming a particularly aggressive stance. Sparks were dousing his entire form, not only his cheek pouches. That was not normal, pichu had extremely limited capabilities with their electricity until they evolved. Paying closer attention, it was obviously in pain.

Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn't expecting Pikachu from the anime to appear by some higher plot powers. That's why I was currently prepared for such an occasion, wearing a foot grounder.

Reassured by my somewhat feeble grounding, I took off my thick hoodie and folded it over my arm, so it wouldn't look too bulky. Taking a deep breath, I knocked loud enough on the wall to catch the pichu's attention.

"Hey," I said softly and began approaching slowly and low to the ground, averting my eyes once he looked in my direction. "Sorry to get on your case buddy, but you're kind of retarding my exam. And I can't have that."

The pichu generated more intense sparks despite my best efforts to appear non-threatening. Once I was near enough, I caught sight of an uncovered electrical panel. The cables were dangerously fizzing and cracking, looking like they had been munched on.

Putting two and two together, I narrowed my eyes and deviated my course so as to put myself between the immediate danger and the man. The optimal thing to do would have been to trap him in a pincer so I could get to him unscathed, but the guy was obviously incapacitated and apparently traumatised.

"Okay," I tried again. "Okay little guy. I really need you to calm down right now, so please be a good boy and..." I slowly reached behind my back for a few treats I kept in my back-pocket. It smelled horrible once I'd go back home but it was worth it sometimes, like right now. "… take some of this?"

The pichu warily sniffed the air and cautiously approached where I'd knelt down. After a few moment of guarded staring, he dropped all pretenses and I felt his tingling tongue lick at my hand for more, prompting me to look up at the man and mouthing him that it would be alright.

I gave him – for it was definitely a male – a few more treats, gradually directing him to my right so that his back would be facing my left hand. A left hand that was carefully unfolding the hoodie on the ground, as I was wary of it startling the pichu by flapping or clinging around.

Once it was done, I breathed in anticipation and draped the walking-on-stubby-legs-battery and wrapped it around as tightly as I could. Feeling all the hair on my body rising, I struggled against the trashing rodent and hurriedly palpated its confined form until I felt the base of his ears, simultaneously pressing both until I felt no more resistance.

The breath I didn't know I was holding escaped me and I calmed down my erratic heartbeat. A shuffling of cloth brought my gaze to the now standing man.

He took off his glasses to wipe them off with still trembling hands. "Young man, I must say that was beautifully executed. I've never seen you around the coral though, are you perhaps from the new batch of interns?"

I chuckled under my breath. "No, sir. I'm here for a trainer license examination. It was merely by chance that I stumbled upon this."

His eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, so you're the applicant! Ash Ketchum if I'm not mistaken?"

I nodded. "That's me. Would you happen to be the League representative?" I asked, careful not to let slip my distaste for his employer.

"That I am, lad!" He said, laughing good-naturedly.

Feeling a slight tremor between my arms, I decided to cut the conversation short. "You know, I'd properly shake your hand and all but, well… my arms are full right now." I said, motioning to my arms.

"Yes! I still haven't thanked you for your help, young man. I suppose I should also apologize for being late." He said embarrassingly.

I waved it off. "Don't worry about it, sir. Though, if I could get a half-hour to get this little fella some help, I'd really appreciate it."

"You take as long as necessary, lad. Such care for pokemon should be commanded, it warms my heart so to see the new generation follow the teachings of the League. And I honestly doubt we could hold your examination with our little electric problem."

I wasn't sure if he was talking about the pichu or the power still being out. Still, I nodded in thanks and sped off to Samuel's lab. Hurrying as I was, I barely returned the greetings I was getting until I barreled through the door to Samuel's quarters.

"Professor! You've got any nerd stuff to deal with an overcharged electric rodent?" I called, already feeling more at ease inside the premises.

Spying the slouched form of the professor near the coffee pot, I gently nudged my blurry eyed guardian and guided him to sit on a cushioned chair. Lightly exasperated, I made quick work of brewing a fresh batch of coffee as black as the bitter liquid could get, before filling two mugs and making Samuel drink the first.

Sip after sip, I could see the life return to his eyes, until he grabbed the mug I was literally forcing down his throat and guzzled down the rest of it. The now hawkish gaze of his caught sight of the second one on the table and he gave it the same treatment as its fallen brother.

The head-professor of the Kanto region, ex-champion, scientific genius, poet extraordinaire, sex-symbol for generations of women around the earth, burped in contentment. I would think this surreal if it was my first time witnessing such a scene. As it was, I was much too desensitized to it.

"Aah… That really hit the spot, thank you Delia. You're a real life-saver."

That kind of slip as well was practically routine to me. As much as it made my gut wrench, I had to say Samuel was the one whom Delia's death had hit the worst. Hell, with how much help Ash's mother was to the professor, I had expected she would have gotten a comfortable job as her assistant instead of breaking her back with two jobs. But I wasn't in the know as far as to what the dynamic of their relationship was, so I tried not to think about it too much.

With my hand rubbing his back unconsciously, I managed to feel him stiffen, pointing me to the exact moment he realized his error.

"It's alright professor," I began, reverting back to his formal form of adress, a bit miffed at him. "You should really hire an assistant, though. I won't be here anymore by the day after tomorrow."

I felt a pang of hurt in my chest at the dejected face he made.

He sighed. "Indeed my boy. It's not like I'm in need of applications though, as would attest poor Carol. Why, she's probably cursing my name under her mountain of paperwork right about now!" His full-belly laugh warmed me up a bit, prompting me to put that behind.

Oh fuck! Where would I put the pichu?! My brief splash of panic was thankfully unneeded, the bundle of yellow and black still dozing off on the counter. I got up and picked it up once again, returning to the table with a third mug of coffee I handed to a suddenly alert Samuel

"What do we have here?" Samuel cocked an eyebrow and sipped at his third caffeine injection.

He then listened as I proceeded to tell him of this early morning's events and finally nodded. "That's quite the little troublemaker you've got your hands into, my boy. I can't remember any rookie trainer having as peculiar a team as yours." He said with a knowing grin.

Not surprised that he'd already guess my intentions, I shrugged. "What can I say, he seems to have some fight in him."

Still smirking, he drained the last of his coffee and stood up. "Alright then, leave it to me. you've saved me a good hour of aimless wandering, so it's only normal I return the favor. Now get out of my lab and good luck with your exam."

He shooed me off and I headed back to the exam room. I was surprised to find Jason, one of the I.T guy I usually met around Samuel's, having just replaced the ruined wiring and switched on the power.

Once inside I was directed by the receptionist to a room arranged with a few rows of tables and chairs where I found the man from earlier conversing with a stern looking woman I had never seen before. She was introduced as the League psychologist and she seemed particularly annoyed with me. I guessed she wasn't too keen on being sent out here for only one kid.

Naturally, I breezed through the written part in a quarter of the time allotted. It didn't take that much to fill multiple choice questions when you actually knew what it was talking about. Survivalism, Pokemon biology and behavior, migration patterns, history, map reading, basic political environment, more in-depth law pertaining to trainers. It covered a lot, but nothing I hadn't prepared for.

I was then taken to another room where I was told to sit across the woman I didn't bother to remember the name of and got thoroughly interrogated. Not anything too intrusive, but I felt she was pushing the line more than once. Still, I kept my cool and answered every question like I was amicably conversing with an aunt that said she last saw you when you were still a kid, back when you couldn't possibly remember her.

After that, they gave me some paperwork to fill out before continuing. When came the final test, the man was initially ready to simply pass me since I had done well with the pichu, but the sour-faced bitch insisted on proper protocol being upheld.

Once they led me to the standard battling field I had used many times with Samuel, the woman released a rhyhorn and told me to approach him, that I would pass if the rhino let me initiate contact and prolong it for a minute without any hostile action.

Honestly, I would admit this was a rather fair and passable way of assessing a trainer's ability to interact with pokemons. I could also see all the ways this could go wrong, but the rhyhorn species was rather tame, what with them being herbivores before their evolution.

Naturally I passed, and the man – Leon – presented me with a trainer certificate I was to take to the nearest League establishment to receive my official trainer card.

A smile split my face at the sweet taste of success – that of mango flavored iced tea I had swiped away from Samuel's mini-fridge earlier.

* * *

Bow. Hunting knife. Swiss knife. Hatchet. Pokedex. Emergency compass and Easter Kanto map. Water filtering tablets and two full bottles. First-aid kit. Matches. Rope. Two spare jeans. Three spare boxers. A jacket. Spare shirts. 4V flashlight. Lightweight tent. A tarp. Sleeping bag. Pots and a cup. Spice Rack. Some varied rations. A month worth of base Poke-Munch.

And most importantly, toilet paper. It doesn't matter what anyone tells you you'll need most, the main fact is that whilst you're traveling, toilet paper is like gold. When someone desperately wants some, you'd be amazed at the lengths they'd go to for merely a roll. I was pretty sure the concept could be superposed to an even higher degree in this world, instead of an off-road camping area. Naaah man, don't gass me. I'm all set for a goddamn apocalypse at this point.

All of that stuff added up to a whooping seventeen kilograms, even with the space-expanding and weight-reducing technology behind my bag's conception. A tad more than what I was expecting, but I had trained to deal with nearly that much. Though I'd have to take a lot of breaks until I could adapt to the weight.

…

Looking back one last time at Pallet Town, I admired the sunrise from the hill I stood upon and let my fingers thread over the pokeballs of Eole, Sedna and Bel. I then allowed myself to take one last lungful of its clean, clear air and with my next step, got the next inhale from the invigorating air of Route 1.

A smile split my face at the smell of adventure I was met with.

_Pokedex entry __#__47_: _Parasect is an orange, insectoid __pokemon__ that has been completely overtaken by the parasitic mushroom on its back. It has a small head with pure white eyes and a segmented body that is mostly hidden by the mushroom. It has three pairs of legs with the foremost pair forming large pincers. The fungus growing on its back has a large red cap with yellow spots throughout._

_It can thrive in dank __forests__ with a suitable amount of humidity for growing fungi. Swarms of this __pokemon__ have been known to infest trees. The swarm will drain the tree of nutrients until it dies and will then move on to a new tree. __The move Spore has been thought to be a signatures of the species for a long time before evidence of the contrary._

_The major consensus for the proper description of this pokemon__ has__n't__ been theorized __until very recently. T__hat the fungus constituting a parasect's shell is actually the pokemon in question. The reason for such indecision and skepticism on the subject takes root in the very recent observation of an individual of the species having grown to __a confirmed 36 __years of age, beyond __the species'__ average lifespan of __25__ years. __Although it wasn't recorded __in video__, t__he i__ndividual has been witnessed discarding __his__ still organic body, leaving it behind and crawling away into the darkness, before returning exactly 24 hours later, having noticeably shrunk in size._

**A/N: Yup, that was quite a long prologue, but I'm honestly kinda proud of how it turned out. So, yeah… I sincerely hope my take on what I imagine an IRL pokemon battle to be wasn't too disappointing. I'm still kind of a novice in all things writing-related. I mean, I tried not to make it look like the SI knew what he was doing since he shouldn't at all.**

**I also have to admit some uncertainty about not describing in detail how much Boss suffers from his poison growing to be so potent. I thought it would be self explanatory, really. You can probably imagine that not even fellow poison types can withstand this much of a corrosive environment; and thus the loneliness. From there, it's not hard to imagine the same concept being applied to other types. With some fire types' temperatures growing too hot for any and all form of companionship or mating option to be possible. Ice types causing even the most enduring of their kinds to die of hypothermia, etc…**

**There's also the matter of the pokemons in this story being noticeably more physically imposing. I feel like I should reassure you in that it is an entirely conscious decision on my part. This stems from the matter that pokemons like tyranitar would honestly look underwhelmingly nonthreatening. Like canonically, they say one is around 6" looool. I can't write this, it'd be horrendous. **

**Plus, I fear I won't be able to write a story if the biggest danger around can get dunked on by Steph Curry. It also doesn't sit well with me that Pokemon Battling is nothing but a sport. Nope, in this story, the world _needs_ strong trainers to let the rest of civilization thrive. That's the only way I could explain Champions, Gym Leaders, etc being so politically powerful.**

**I guess that's what you get when you try to rush things, though. Five chapters for a prologue seems awfully long even to me, however, no? Hopefully I will remember to later mention all the stuff I couldn't cram into this chapter.**

**Although in retrospect, I feel like I learned a lot from this foray into intense, action packed narration. Learned a lot and gained a new appreciation and a metric-fuck-ton of respect for fanfiction writers.**

**Like, I used to resent… kinda, yeah. I used to resent authors who would take months and sometimes years to update a story. Though I never reviewed in scathing flame language or anything like that, I now realize it was incredibly entitled of me to expect everyone to have the same work ethic as say, Coeur Al'Aran since that guy is quite simply a marvel of the human race.**

**But I digress. Authors are as much people as you and I are. Yaddah Yaddah… Respect people who entertain you for free. Don't be a dick. Leave reviews. Don't steal, it's bad. Killing is even worse. Yet mass genocide has been and still is somehow more acceptable than that in some cases that I'd rather not point out in fear of being promptly terminated by an organization I will not name either but begins with Mos and ends with Sad. My dog is barking his throat sore at a gang of cats playing parkour in my garden. The guy who used to smuggle my favorite brand of peanut butter in my country has closed shop recently. Does any of this make sense? It probably did at the beginning when I still remembered what point I was trying to make, but not anymore, no.**

**Anyway, big-up to "Regret", one of my favorite stories ever, to which I've totally ripped off the Eterna Forest paper off of. It just always stuck in my mind, and I thought hey, why the fuck not?**

**Yup-yup, see you later guys^^. You rule!**

**Uploaded on: 11/01/2019**


	6. Discovery

**A/N: Man, I only just realized I've unconsciously been bullied into using 'Murika's retarded measurement system. Meh, it's too late to change 'em anyway, so here we go with a particularly battle-heavy chapter.^^**

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Discovery**

* * *

"_It's supposed to be a challenge, it's a shortcut! If it were easy, it would just be 'the way'." - __Rubin, Road Trip._

* * *

_Smack_

The distinctive sound of a fleshy surface impacting another echoed around the dimly illuminated clearing, dusky rays of a setting sun denying the world its only reliable source of light. Fuck that useless moon, for real…

Letting my hand freely slide down from its initiated facepalm protocol, the mother of all groans escaped the confines of my throat.

My head was killing me, it thrummed against my skull like an old Nokia on vibrate mode. My back was killing me, my feet were killing me. My arms, shoulders, calves, thighs were killing me. It was all too natural that I would feel murderous at the moment. For I couldn't even lie down and be done with the day, since I still had to collect some dry wood.

Truly, cutting through the wilderness between Pallet and Viridian proved to be even more arduous a task than I had originally predicted. No surprise there, though. I had hoped for this kind of challenge.

Had I gone for the scenic route – the one actually shorter and easier – it would have been nothing more than an admission of defeat. Nothing more than me going against the very principles I wished to uphold during my journey. The epic tale of a badass young man crusading against the inviting embrace of mediocrity and complacence.

Preposterous! You just had to look at those wet behind the ears _nerds_ coasting through the circuit and inevitably falling at the group stage of the Conference, if they even made it that far in the first place. With their neatly beaten path, their safety checkpoints, their hearty campfires, their comforting laughter and… Ugh… Whatever, I would be the one laughing when the Conference comes around in a little over two years from now.

Getting back to my feet with a sigh, I fished flashlight and hatchet out and unclipped Eole's pokeball before releasing him. Once the totally unnecessary light show died over, my partner blearily opened his eyes and looked around, inspecting his surroundings before turning my way, where he greeted me with an exhausted but nonetheless warm trill.

"What's up buddy," I greeted back with the last wisps of my fading enthusiasm. "Don't worry, we're nearly done for the day. We just need to get a fire started and I'll whip us up something. Do you think you could give us some light for a few minutes?"

He chirped an affirmation and used his rudimentary – for now – Flash to illuminate the clearing.

Honestly, it was no surprise to find him so spent. After seeing him trounce rattata and sentret by the dozens for the past few days, I couldn't call him a toddler anymore. But it was a fact that he still didn't have enough stamina to stay awake for a whole day. Sedna did, though, and we made full use of her newly learned ability to levitate – albeit not sustainable for more than a few minutes at a time – for her to fend off the pidgeys we would meet, and brutally knock down the lone spearow we had spied from afar. Since I didn't trust myself to accurately snipe him with the high draw weight necessary to kill on the spot, Sedna came in clutch and did it from a distance.

I still had the bird attached to my side, along with a rattata that looked fat enough to be edible. This one killed by an arrow of mine. It would be a pain in the ass to skin, pluck and cull them, but I needed to get used to this, and fast. Fortunately, my current teammates weren't grown enough yet to be carnivore. But still, Sedna seemed to be rather averse to kill that spearow, and she would need a regular source of meat when her first major growth spurt eventually hits in the next few months.

As for Bel, he was… Well, let's just say I didn't have the slightest idea why he chose to follow us with as big a rebellious streak as his.

The pichu was one hell of an attention seeker, that's for sure. The worst of it largely came from a near visceral jealousy of the time I would spend with Eole and Sedna. He didn't even want the cuddles or head-pats I gave them. Nope, he would mostly just growl at or shock me until I watched him use Thundershock on whatever twig or rock he would pick up. Then, he would puff his little chest out, waiting for compliments. Those would follow, yes. But rather halfheartedly after the first few times – no matter how cute it was.

I chose to forgive and forget all the times his tantrums came out worse since he couldn't cause all that much mayhem to begin with. He was admittedly pretty useless before I cashed in on a favor from Jose – one of the interns back at the corral who wished to specialize in electric types – to have his mellowest pokemon tutor Bel in projecting his electricity outwards. Our first encounter was a fluke. Even with him in his over-saturated state, I could have handled him without being that cautious.

I would take what I was given though, and hope that he'd let us have more of his trust in a near future. At least, his Thundershock was coming along nicely. At this pace, I would have him throw hands with younger pidgey by the end of the week.

Glancing at my rowdy trio happily munching at their Poke-Munch and freshly plucked berries, I focused back down at the now barely recognizable rattata and ruined spearow. I sighed, resigned to have sleep for dinner and enjoying it. The protein bars I had packed were specifically made to give a trainer a rush of activity for a couple hours, and I didn't feel like staying awake any longer. Bit of an oversight that.

Grabbing the shovel attachment from my bag, I clipped it to the multipurpose hatchet, got up to my feet and wrapped the carcasses in a paper bag. I stood still for a moment, debating if I should ask one of my partners to accompany me, but chose to let them have their fun, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even Bel seemed to open up and I wouldn't mess that up.

Still, my bow was fully deployed and slung over my shoulder just in case, and the weight of my knife on my calve felt reassuring. A glint of metal caught my eye from the bottom of my bag, I shrugged to myself and pocketed the flare gun as well. There was no such thing as overkill.

Then I walked a few dozen paces away from the camp and began the tedious task of digging a hole deep enough to mask the scent of game from potential predators. It wouldn't help with the smell already wafting around, but I didn't intend to stick around for long after tomorrow morning's training session anyway. The meowth prints we saw earlier didn't bode well for my hopefully persian-free crossing of Route 1.

I made my way back to the campsite after a few minutes and upon entering the clearing, was met with something that made my blood boil. A tall figure, male, lean of build and wearing a suspicious hat was sneakily making its way towards my team who were still chattering away.

My caveman instincts were screaming at me to rush him before my hands grazed the weapons at my side. At the angle he was walking, I could sneak behind him unseen, provided I did less noise than my still unaware teammates. After inspecting my immediate surroundings for potential accomplices, I did just that.

With him having stopped to crouch behind the erected tent, I had the time to reach a few feet behind him. He reeked of psychic pokemon, as if I needed any other reason to hate him.

Very carefully, I gripped the flare gun and took a deep breath. I then cocked it, making sure to make it as loud as possible, but readied an arrow instead. The flare couldn't do much damage unless I fired point blank at his face anyway. "Move, and you're dead." He froze. "I want to see your hands. High up in the air."

He complied after a tense second where I thought he would try to release a pokemon. Instead, he gulped noticeably and he coughed in preparation to say something. "Thi-"

"Sedna, come over here and boil his face off if you think he'll try anything." My sassy little feebas floated away from her group who had fortunately not panicked and given away our inexperience. She stopped a few feet before the guy and nodded at me, scowling the best she could. Sadly, her Scald didn't heat up beyond piss-warm at the moment, but he didn't need to know that.

"Alright, fam. I've got all the time in the world to choose what to do with you. You, you've got a minute."

A beat passed. Then a sharp laugh echoed through the clearing. "A minute for what?" He said with a newfound assurance that filled me with dread.

"To convince me to call the rangers at best, or you can die imagining your mother in tears of denial from not getting any news after a few months," I shot back, confused as to how he could be confident at all. His hands still high above his head reassured me a little however.

He chuckled. "Funny you would mention the ranger corps, kid." A hand slowly came down to his chest.

"Don't fucking move! Sedna!" I barked out, my voice cracking at the end and Sedna grimacing with a hesitant expression.

He froze for a moment and slowly turned to face me with his other hand lowering to the left side of his jacket. There, right on top of his heart sat a golden emblem of an octagon encasing a rhydon's upper body – the symbol of the League.

I didn't know what to think. There was embarrassment at him seeing the tiny flare gun. Also for not having recognized the admittedly quite distinct burnt orange uniform. A healthy sprinkle of anger and indignation was still bubbling at the surface as well, though. I went with that one.

"I'll need better than a thrift store replica. You were sneaking around like a Rocket grunt." I pursed my lips, the implied threat sounding hollow even with an arrow ready to loose.

He rolled his eyes in derision. "And what would I need doing to convince you? Oh powerful rookie!"

I gritted my teeth at the jab.

After the few moments it took me to realize I was just being hardheaded, I disarmed the arrow with a deep exhale and slightly relaxed my stance, giving him an irritated look.

"I'm not apologizing."

* * *

Silence. I hated that thing back home.

Actually, no. It'd be more accurate to say I never got how people could enjoy silence. After all, why would anyone choose literal _blank_ when they could listen to music.

Like, if I had my way, there would be a playlist running on shuffle during my every moments of consciousness. However, it appeared I wouldn't have my way in this world. Or at least, not for a long time.

One of the very first things I researched after arriving to Pallet and having access to internet was this world's pop culture.

There wasn't much. It was crazy how little entertainment people could get aside from pokemon related stuff. One could hypothesize this was the reason for the disparity in technological progress between the two universes known to me.

In 'Pokemon', scientific research was much more heavily turned towards living in harmony with the other sentient species roaming the planet. And well… If I wasn't hypocrite enough to call it enslavement – since I benefited from it at the moment – a spade still had to be called a spade.

Back to the point, in my old 'Earth', technological advancement covered so much more fields than here. I'm thinking it had to do with priorities. On one hand, you had a human population in constant danger of overhaul from another species, which could explain the over-specialization on the field of pokemon research to the point of being able to miniaturize and contain gigantic creatures into a device you could fit in your pocket.

On the other, you had us standard humans on Earth who had already ascended to the top of the food chain, only had ourselves to duke it out with. Naturally, nations and populations at the top would try to find other forms of entertainment once they consolidated their positions.

And that's where the biggest difference came, I thought. Entertainment and c_ommunication_. Here, communication hadn't known any major breakthrough after the most basic of audiovisual feed. And even that wasn't achieved until very recently. There also literally weren't more than thirty television channels between all the regions. Compare that to our perpetual creative renew and you can imagine I would have died of boredom if not for my chosen career path.

Still… No enjoyable television, no decent video games, no original card or board games, not much fantasy literature, no good music… The only music I could find was much too industrialized and generic in the form of pop or folk songs from washed up contest stars or pokemon performers.

Maybe that meant I could try and resuscitate the music industry or pick-up girls by shamelessly plagiarizing every good song I remembered.

Hmm… Now that's a hell of a contingency plan. However, I had a much more interesting alternative ahead of me.

I shouldn't think too much about it anyway, it only served to make me sad, or distract me from things I should actually be focused on.

Like the impossibly smug ranger that was currently leeching off of my established campsite.

"See this?" I scowled at him, pointing to my pokedex. "That was your picture and badge number sent to Professor Samuel Oak. He's also got my location, and I asked him to act accordingly if I don't text him a particular message before noon, tomorrow."

"That's an awful lot of precautions, are you really that wary of me? " he asked condescendingly, his cocky smirk still in place.

"Yeah, and what of it?" I crossed my arms.

"I don't know, you tell me. I'm nothing if not a paragon of virtue and justice. Look at this face." He said, pointing to the aforementioned ugly mong.

Okay. Okay… This guy was doing it on purpose. And I just looked like a tsundere being on the defensive like that.

"You're right," I sighed. "So, _you_ tell me. What made you act so shady earlier?"

He scratched his temple sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. But it's not everyday you find such a… colorful bunch of pokemon hanging around. I did realize they weren't wild, but I couldn't help try and observing them."

I snorted in contempt. "Fat load of good it did you, I couldn't imagine being held at gunpoint by a rookie."

"What can I say, that was pretty clever. You handled yourself well for a kid."

"Yeah, well. Not everybody can be as good a failure at life as you are." I retorted, miffed at the patronizing tone.

He chortled and hummed in thought. Even that was rubbing me the wrong way. "So you really don't recognize me?"

Pausing in consideration, I inspected his face closer. He did seem familiar, but I chalked it up to the smell of psychic aura. Then, it clicked.

"No wonder you constantly wear that mask on TV, you look even uglier without it." I taunted, even more wary now.

He got up to his feet, making me tense, and bowed dramatically, holding his beret with his arms swept to the left and at an angle. "William Meyers, at your service."

With his immaculate purple hair now uncovered, he was undeniably recognizable as the 42nd Silver Conference winner, the finale had been held the day of Ash's eleventh birthday. That explained the smell at least. But not how he could get his hair to look so good with all the grime and humidity around.

"Here I was thinking you might have been ACE level by now. You must have plateaued, huh? How does it feel to know guys you beat before are now gym leaders when you're still stuck patrolling the beginner's route?" I was referring to Jasmine Steele, the other finalist, who had just taken her mother's mantle as Olivine's Gym Leader.

He scoffed, visibly bristling, my grin grew wider. "You don't know what you're talking about, brat. I've had a lot of chances to go up in rank, I just wanted more free time. And I couldn't have that with the ACE, that's all!"

"Uhuh," I hummed in affirmation. "If little Willy says it's like that, then it must be true."

"Shut up! Stop talking shit!"

My satisfied smirk only grew wider.

"I said shut. Up!"

* * *

"Chuuu!"

The smell of ozone was growing thick in the air.

We were currently in the middle of one of our two daily training sessions. It was my first attempt to introduce an additional one, once I judged their stamina and endurance to be appropriate enough for it.

"Chuuu!"

On the other side of the clearing, Sedna was busy asserting her dominance over the river's inhabitants. Merely poliwag and goldeen, as I would have stepped in if there was anything I thought she couldn't handle. She had been getting increasingly more aggressive for the past month and it culminated after the first week out here in the wilderness. One of my regular talks with Samuel had given me a clearer insight on this, in the form of a report from Juan Alcacer, Sootopolis' former Gym Leader.

"Chuuu!"

The man didn't disclose anything about an eventual evolution, but he did explain the finer points of a feebas' growth. One of them being the aggressive streak they would develop once their first and most noticeable growth spurt would hit. He explained that by their newfound need for a protein heavy nutrition. It also came with a sharpening of the front teeth they formerly and exclusively used for algae and kelp.

"Chuuu!"

Hopping all around us, Eole was alternating long and high jumps to build up leg strength, as that was the only way he dealt with wild pokemon until now; jump as high as he could and pound them into unconsciousness. (… I'm sorry.) Rinse and Repeat. I was considering working on his psychic abilities now that he was up to speed in his physical development. I still remember my surprise the first time he levitated the cap of my canteen to mess with me since I hadn't seen him do it before.

Samuel had said psychic genes seemed to randomly appear for the togepi line. At least that's what they could glean from their small sample of the species. It became obvious after factoring in my experience that it actually depended on whether they were the 'original' offspring of a Latios and Latias or just descendants of a couple of togetic or togekiss.

"Chuuu!"

I could have given up that information and helped advance science, but who was I to ruin a centuries-long hoarded secret… Nah, I was just possessive like that. They could discover that themselves.

Other than that, we were mostly focused on expanding what I likened to his mana pool. As much as Samuel and most of the scientific community were aware of, a pokemon's power had metaphysical origins. That explained a lot and left even more questions, but I didn't care to know anything beyond 'range attacks equal magic'. That meant exhausting his reserves by healing Bel and Sedna was the only way to go for now.

"Ch-Chu- … Chuuu!"

"Okay, that's enough for today Bel!" I scribbled down his score for the day and approached his panting form. I made sure my insulating gloves were secured and scooped him up in a thick wool shirt. "That was incredible buddy, you wanna take a look?"

Ears flickering, he smiled and nodded tiredly, arcs of lightning still dancing between his raised fur. I deposited him a dozen meters from his original spot where twenty balls of dried clay sat. Most of them were barely recognizable, having turned into fine powder. Others were only partly crumbled, and one was barely charred. A few spots of upturned dirt were smoking from a few missed attempts as well.

Still, the progress was definitely there. Bel had accurately hit the twenty targets for the first time, and from a not-so-insignificant distance. I couldn't describe how much I was proud of him. He looked so innocent in his happiness at the moment.

"Eole, take five. Bel needs a patch-up."

That only lasted as long as it took me to bring him to Eole's care, however, where smugness came to the fore and he proceeded to recount to my pouting starter what I believed was a heavily exaggerated rendition of his feat.

Taking the scene in, a sincere smile crept up on my face.

It died quickly with the angered cry of what I thought was a poliwhirl.

I sighed and extended my bow and an arrow. "Guys, come and help once you're done. Sedna struck above her league again."

At least tonight's dinner seemed to be lined up already.

* * *

"Rattata! Go for a Quick Attack!" The ADHD'd teenager across the field shrieked, his excitement palpable in the air.

The purple rat – whose cousins or some far-off family members had probably ended up being Sedna and my dinner on multiple occasions – screamed out its name and bathed itself in white light for a couple seconds.

It left Bel enough time to Charge and get ready. "Thunder Wave."

The rattata cried for battle and rushed at Bel, streaks of white left in its path. At this level however, Quick Attack couldn't be anything more than a faster, more refined Tackle. The normal type's inexperience also made itself known with the fact he couldn't swerve away from the intricate web of paralyzing arcs that weren't even launched, but merely raised a few feet in front of Bel. A squeak of pain escaped the rodent as he barreled through, still determined to hit his foe, only to crash and skid on the ground.

"Charge and Spark."

My opponent was panicking and screaming to his struggling pokemon to get up and fight.

"Chuuu!" I closed my eyes and turned my head for the couple seconds it took Bel to coat himself in his own Thundershock.

I looked back just in time to see him charging at his foe at full speed, shrouded in electricity. A resounding crack echoed around the field, making all the onlookers wince collectively.

'The Battle of the Rodents' was what I liked to call this match-up. It was the sixth rattata of the day and Bel had taken on five of them. They all ended the same way, so it happened enough times I felt obligated to give it a name.

The collision was kind of underwhelming when you considered all the time it took to ready the move. But that was just because I had seen what high level battling looked like.

Still, I whistled for Bel to come back to my side and scooped him up in a now customary hug to give him a few kind words.

After making sure he had mastered Thundershock, we've been working on his finesse. It helped him to be less wasteful in his attacks, and more importantly to reign in on his inner voltage so that I could touch him like this. The added contact I couldn't give him before without being shocked was what made him a lot more mellow and affectionate towards us.

A red gleam followed by a white one caught my attention and I put my game face back on. I was then met with the sight of a creature with cream-white fur and a pig-like nose, hopping on spindly legs and pumping long brown paws agitatedly. His darker brown fur marked him a male mankey. They had an exceptional sense of smell.

"C'mon Mankey, knock-out this rat!" At least he didn't waste time.

Oh, I know he didn't just say that. "Fuck off, brat! You don't call a gyarados a fish, do you? The only rat I saw today was yours." The chorus of ohs and hollers that followed were balm for my ego.

Idiots done being schooled for now, I looked back down at Bel to see him struggling to keep his eyes open. He _did_ take on most of the battles today, after all. "I don't think you're feeling up for another round, buddy." I unclipped his pokeball and returned him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" He screamed from across the field.

"I'm forfeiting him." My hands hovered near Eole's pokeball hesitatingly. I shrugged to myself in the end, this was the last checkpoint before Viridian and there were rangers all around. It's not like I could hide him for much longer anyway.

Eole hadn't even fully emerged when the kid shrieked. "Karate Chop!"

I clicked my tongue in contempt. "Eole, head in the game! Jump and Pound!" Fortunately, he didn't panic at the charging mankey as he was used to the command.

With as intimidating a trill as he could muster, the togepi flexed his deceptively powerful legs and launched himself in the air, leaving the mankey to chop at the air with a faintly glowing palm.

"Mankey, swat it when it comes down!"

"Extrasensory-Smell!"

Just before the apex of his jump, a faint purple outline enveloped Eole's form and connected with his foe below him. The mankey cried out and held his nose, visibly in pain, before 30 pounds of togepi impacted his cranium with a dense as bone eggshell.

_This_ gong sound however did make me wince in unison with the assembly.

However, my suspicions that this mankey was of a higher level than Eole and Bel proved to be true as he barely even stumbled for a few seconds before shaking off the dizziness and bellowing in the potent rage his species was known for. It only left enough time for my partner to bounce off his momentum and regain his balance.

"That's it, Mankey! C'mon Fury Swipes!"

A click of the tongue escaped me at the relatively advanced move that let the pig nosed primate's claws elongate and glow white.

"Eole, Defense Curl. Don't panic and roll with the punches. Get some distance but don't cross the white lines," I instructed, referring to the nearly faded white lime delimiting the field.

He trilled an affirmation and retreated into his eggshell, compacting his form into a ball, and faced his rushing foe with the bottom side, where it was the sturdiest.

Timing it well, he hopped in time to meet the mankey's strike. Propelled to the other side, he emerged and skidded on his feet to bleed off the momentum. He then withdrew once again with the arrival of his foe, positioning himself so as to go the other way.

This continued for a couple minutes, with the mankey gradually calming down and taking more time between each attack to reach his target.

His exhaustion finally catching up to him, the fighting type under-hit a chop that didn't launch Eole farther than a few feet.

I licked my lips, seeing the opening. "Extrasensory-Sight! Then Flash and push him out."

Eole had seen it too, as he charged at the mankey before I finished speaking. The previous purple outline returned and connected with the primate, whose eyes widened in surprise before multiple cries of pain echoed around the field at the blinding light erupting from Eole. None louder or more pained than the mankey's however.

Blinking the spots in my eyes away, I thought it was high time I got myself some goddamn sunglasses or goggles. I always wanted goggles.

My bearings regained once again, I was met with a similar sight to Bel's match. This time with a togepi standing victorious over the squealing, prone form of a mankey just across the line delimiting the field.

I jogged over to my starter's side and engulfed him in a crushing hug. It was his first 'proper' battle between two trainers, and he had done splendidly.

"You were amazing, buddy! You couldn't have done any better than that." His beady brown eyes crinkled into a wider smile than his standard one at the approval.

Sadly, we were interrupted by an unpleasant "Hey!" from the other trainer. "You can't just barge into the field like that! You should be disqualified!"

With a roll of my eyes, I thanked in my head the entity providing Ash – and by proxy, me – with the occasions to look so blasé and intelligent. It felt like with the main character of a Chinese fantasy novel, and I loved every minute of it.

I made a show of inspecting his pokemon's prone, shrieking body and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I think he'd prefer a trip to the PokeCenter, pal. But you do you, I guess." A hand came up to scratch at the bit of stubble under my chin that had grown over the past month.

It didn't look to have had the deflecting effect intended, as the fuming teenager audibly grit his teeth, no doubt thinking of a way to avoid looking even more the part of a pokemon abuser. "It ain't changing shit! Now give me my money and get the fuck out of here!"

"Not so sure about that, kid." An irritatingly recognizable voice interrupted us. "You agreed for A1 rules, and they do include loss by out-of-bounds. Now, quit being a sore loser and link your pokedex with his."

He still looked ready to throw hands, but the fact it was a ranger who spoke made him a tad more agreeing, obviously. Still, he unceremoniously spat to the side before handing his pokedex over to Will's waiting hand. The purple haired man ignored the immature act and took mine as well before proceeding with the transaction – fifty pokes by our previously typed conditions.

After a last scathing glare thrown my way, the guy angrily marched away. And I, being the attention whore I was, couldn't help but leave him a parting gift. "Hey!" I called, with him turning once again to face me. "Bro, I swear to God, if a woman ever touches you, it'll change your life. You should look into making it happen."

With that, I spun on my heels and left the crime scene. For the only thing missing to make it an official one was the explosion I imagined leaving behind.

* * *

"I'm not sure it was your best idea to rile him up like that, you know? I've seen some nasty stuff happen in my time and a lot of those came from a trainer holding on a grudge for a bit too long." Will said from behind me.

"Meh." I shrugged.

"I'm being serious here, Ash."

I entertained the idea of snapping a bough back into Will's face for a moment, but ended up simply ducking under it, hearing him do the same behind me.

A sigh came from behind at me ignoring him. "I told you before, I dig arrogance just as much as you but you'll need to tone down on it until you at least get strong enough to back it up. Even then, you're never completely safe from a slit throat while asleep."

This did make me stop, actually.

"You're right, I shouldn't have." I said after a moment.

Will didn't answer for a moment, no doubt expecting me to pick up where I had paused. Then, he sighed again. "Alright, I'm sure you'll figure it out the hard way at one point or another. I was the same before." I dodged his hand attempting to pat my head.

Undeterred, he moved on with the conversation. "By the way, I saw your togepi earlier. He seems to have gotten the hang of Extrasensory quite fast."

I hummed in confirmation. "He did all the work."

"That's for sure. But don't you think Gemini deserves some thanks for training him? Should I call him out?" I couldn't confirm it but I was certain he was smirking at that point.

"Yeah, no. As… pleasant as he is to be around, he absolutely _stink__s_." I raised my voice. "You hear that, Gem?! You're fetid! You can't hide if I can smell you from a mile away." That was only a bluff, but it had worked twice before. And the psychic smell around Will seemed stronger than usual, which was as good an indicator of his presence as any.

A twig cracking to my right announced a not-so-unexpected presence. I turned to inspect the newcomer; a girafarig. A girafarig with a scowl on his face. How pokemon managed to convey emotions with their faces so well, I had no idea. And I'll probably never know.

"He says you could repay him for the training if you stopped keeping him out of your head." Will relayed, pausing for a moment. "He also says showering with water coming from inside a feebas doesn't make you smell any better."

"Tell him he should try harder. How much he sucks is totally out of my control, just as being born with a single digit IQ was out of his."

Will chortled. "Hey, Ash says- Ow! Okay, all right, I'm sorry."

We continued on our path for a few minutes until a stream cut perpendicular to the path. I sighed, resigning myself to the incoming feetrauma, one of wet, cold and squishy feet.

At least, that damn bishounen was going to get it as wel- "Fuck you, Gem!" Nope, they had both floated over the river.

"Gemini says you hurt his feelings, it was out of his control." Will's grin had attained shit-eating proportions at that point.

"I-" I grit my teeth, sighed and laughed in an admission of defeat. "Alright, I concede this one."

"Really? Gemini asks about-"

"No," I shook my head, a bit more forcefully this time. "That is, and probably always will be out of the table."

He groaned, loud and long. "Can we at least get back to the main road? I've only got a few sets of this uniform, you know. "

"Don't make me think of you as even more of a milksop than you already are, Willy." I rolled my eyes. "Sedna and Bel have been fighting since early morning. And I thought I felt a fissure on Eole's shell earlier. I'd prefer not to take any risks until I get him checked up at a Center."

"What about a Teleport?"

I shuddered. "Fuck you."

"Oh, c'mon!" He threw his hand up. "It will be faster if we take the main route. I can even ward off anyone that challenges you."

He actually made a good point, contrary to the previous times he'd tried to convince me.

"Hm…" I hummed, browsing the GPS app on my pokedex. "Tell you what, you do make a good point. If there really isn't any challenges coming our way, we should get to Viridian by six at the latest." I pocketed it back and turned back to face Will and Gemini with a teasing smirk. "Congrats, skinny one. You've just made your first compelling argument of the month. Aren't you proud of your trainer, Gem?"

The girafarig tittered a snicker at Will's expense.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you still can." He turned his head in contempt. "At least, I won't have your ugly face stalking me in a creepy forest anymore."

I glanced back at him in amusement. "Shut the hell up, weirdo. We both know who's the stalker here."

"It wouldn't hold any legitimacy in court, kid. _I _am an upstanding, law-abiding citizen, enlisted into the prestigious ranger corps. You… What the hell is your name, by the way? I'm sorry, but it slipped my mind."

I really had to admire the pomp and haughtiness he could inject in his tone when he wanted. "Uhuh." I hummed in agreement.

As we crossed a last expanse of foliage and climbed the trench before the main road, I felt a minor surge of tension clamping down on my shoulders. It happened every time I would come back out from the woods to resupply at a ranger station or sometimes just to make sure I wasn't lost. It felt less stressful to be in danger beast infested wilderness than human territory.

At least Will had taken to pop up every now and then, perhaps twice or thrice a week to keep me company. I suspected he was sent by the League to keep an eye on me. Perhaps that was a tad too paranoid, even from me. But he was supposed to be a member of the Johto Elite Four in the games. No doubt a very powerful asset for them.

For him to cross my path so many times, seemingly at random _and_ without ulterior motive was pretty unbelievable. I also think he knew that I knew he was sent by the League. Yet, he came back. Still, even if it was the case, I wasn't too bothered by it. It may not have been the purest form of friendship, but it was camaraderie at the least. The banter was decent, and Eole got to be tutored in his psychic abilities by a soon-to-be, if not already Elite-level pokemon.

There was also the neat fact that my ability to ward off telepathy wasn't just a fluke. That, if nothing else, was invaluable to confirm. There was something else I wanted confirmed as well.

"Hey, Willy?" I began.

"Stop calling me that, midget."

"I'll think about it a little-Willy." He growled under his breath. "Anything of note happened in Viridian recently?"

He seemed taken aback for a moment, then his expression slipped into a carefully neutral mask. "What do you want to know?" - in other words, 'You realized?'

"It's just that I've kind of been in a forest for a month. I thought something might have happened with the Gym Leader by now." - i.e 'Duh, it was pretty obvious.'

"You could ask Oak about it once you find a monitor." He tried in a last attempt to steer the conversation away from there.

Looking around for potential eavesdroppers, I got in front of him and looked him in the eye. "Just tell me what you all have done with Giovanni already. I have the right to know."

He froze for a moment, until Gemini appeared at his side with nary a sound. His face darkened. "You've gotten away from all this without any repercussion, Ash. A wise man would forget about it and go on with his life."

"…" He was right. There goes my impulsiveness once again. I didn't even get anything out of it.

Now, though I had put myself in something of a precarious situation. "Uh, yeah. You know what? I shouldn't have done that. Still, the cat's out of the bag now." I met his gaze back. "Would you like to… well, keep on being friends?"

He frowned, disconcerted. "I mean, don't get me wrong. We've pretty much established you've been sent to keep an eye on me by the league. I realize you're also reporting back to them, perhaps about my progress. And I've been careful not to let slip any of my world domination plans." I smirked disarmingly. "My point being, you're a snitch – that's disgusting, yes. But I've seen worse. You're also in the top three of people I've spent the most time with for the past six months."

My hand came up, an offer to shake it going unsaid. "So, what do you say?"

A look of utter confusion invaded his face and for a moment, he stood there, speechless. Gemini by his side emulated his trainer, just as bemused.

"I-" He deflated and shook his head, a rueful upturn of the lips on his face. "You're not normal."

* * *

The set of glass doors opened with a pleasant ding, as a crisp and cool wave of air from inside the PokeCenter offered a sharp contrast to the otherwise stuffy and humid atmosphere of a late July afternoon in West Kanto.

Having lost myself into an AC induced high, I opened my eyes and swiftly made my way in, peer-pressured by the various glares sent my way. That was on me, I probably caused the temperature to rise a couple degrees with my entrance and not only because I was hot.

Walking up to the currently unmanned counter, I unceremoniously dropped my bag at my feet and leaned back cowboy-style against the solid acrylic surface. Being a tad embarrassed from the previous blunder, I had omitted inspecting my immediate surroundings.

Aside from the surprisingly high ceiling of the ground floor, there wasn't much to notice. The orange-brown faux-flooring was pleasant enough to the eye, meshing well with the browns and greens of the couches, padded seats and video-call monitors as well as the array of potted plants and bookshelves scattered around the hall.

Even though pokemon centers were supposed to be standardized and uniform, I could definitely feel the homey and welcoming vibe of the place. Or at least, I thought I would have, were it not absolutely _packed_ of people at the moment.

Muffled footsteps brought my attention back to the counter, behind which stood a fairly tired looking woman, clad in a uniform that wouldn't have been out of place in an x-rated film if it weren't as loose as it was. It appeared that the distinctive pink twin braids were actually a part of their nurse cap what with how horribly it clashed with her dark green hair.

"Hello, are you looking for a room?" She asked pleasantly, the strain of fatigue evident in her tone still.

I nodded, handing her my pokedex. "Yes, ma'am. A check-up for my team as well, if it's not too much trouble."

A sigh escaped her. "I see." She handed me a plastic tray before looking under the counter, mouse clicking noises reaching my ears. "I'm afraid no room is available for now. You could try again later in the afternoon, but I wouldn't count on it all that much. I'm sorry."

I deadpanned at her apologetic smile for a moment before I sighed as well, handing back the half-full tray, that she handed over to a chubby chansey I hadn't realized had arrived. "That's alright, I guess. Though, if you're not too busy, could you answer a question or two?"

She seemed to perk up at that, surprisingly. "Tell you what, make it look like it's serious business and I'm all ears."

I leveled a mischievous smirk her way. "Your shift ends in ten minutes and you want to leave your work to whoever is relieving you, don't you?" I said flatly.

She graced me with a receptionist smile. "Why, that sounds really devious."

An amused snort escaped me. "Right, I can respect that. Say, I've been out of town for a month or so. Have I missed anything? Maybe about why there are so many trainers here? I thought Giovanni was notorious enough to not be challenged by anyone bellow seven badges."

She slumped over the desk and groaned in her arms. "Ugh! Don't remind me… It was supposed to be the dream job. Decent hours, decent pay, not much to do beside the occasional early rookie passing through the forest or some random ones later-on in the circuit. Then Giovanni stepped down and a guy chosen by the League took over – Leader Shingeki… or something. I don't care to remember. Since then, the city's been invaded by every trainer and their uncles hoping to get the Earth badge. It sucks, man."

"I- How old are you?" I was at a loss for words.

An ominous feeling permeated my senses as the woman straightened and gave me that close-eyed smile I hadn't thought could be done in real life. "I'm twenty four, why would you ask that?"

I could feel beads of sweat on my brow as my hands came up placatingly. "Ah, er… Nothing in particular, I just thought you looked way more mature and professional than a nurse fresh out of school would be."

She put a hand on her cheek bashfully. "Oh, my… I can certainly appreciate flattery. Thank you." It was official, scary anime women were genuinely a thing here. That'll take some getting used to.

Recomposing myself, I addressed her again. "So, I don't suppose you have any kind of non-disclosure clause about the pokemon passing through here."

"Hm, I don't hear any question?"

I rolled my eyes. "Can you tell me anything I should look out for when I'm challenging the guy? I'm sure you see your fair share of trainers coming here straight after losing, no?"

"You'll have to develop on that." She said, her expression still unreadable beyond her practiced smile.

"Yeah, like, perhaps a recurring type of wound. He could be mostly targeting legs, or maybe they all come in with irritated eyes." I leaned her way conspiratorially.

"Hm," She tilted her head contemplatively. "I can't say I've ever been asked that before. You get kudos for trying, but I'm afraid you were right about the non-disclosure part. It's not specified this thoroughly but you're getting dangerously close."

I hung my head in disappointment and sighed. "Okay, cool. Thanks for your time anyway. I guess I'll be waiting for my team."

"We hope to see you again."

I tripped on air.

* * *

"-and that's about it, Samuel. I planned to call straight after arriving but the line was unbearable at the time. So I went and booked a battle for tomorrow afternoon. Pretty weird for it to be so soon, when you see all the people around."

"_My boy, it __truly __warms my heart to __hear you're up to such a promising start__. Why, I dare say the inspiration for a haiku emerges_."

The gray-haired man closes his eyes, a serene air reaching me even through the monitor. His eyes now open and sharpened by an unknown force rooted me in place.

"_Life is far too short_

_to live in fear and worry_

_Go enjoy yourself_."

Shaking my head out of the daze, I cleared my throat. "I- Wow. That was… intense."

Appearing smug, Samuel gave me a satisfied smirk. "That, son, was the power of a haiku rightly done. And I've got to say it landed me quite a few maidens' hearts back in my time."

Chalking it up to anime-logic once again, I steered away from the subject. "Anyway, I heard about Giovanni and the official version. Mind giving me the actual rundown?"

"Ah, yes. That. All right, I suppose you've been kept in the dark enough by now." He glanced away, scratching his head.

"I'm all ears."

* * *

My bones were rattling from the brouhaha of the crowd, where I sat in the waiting room, and I could imagine it being the same for the dozen trainers scattered around. Crazy how it got me nervous even when none of it was for me. My battle was approaching, yes, but I probably wasn't going to fight the Leader, if the organizer was to be believed.

Nope, us 'no-badgers' only got to face a designated Gym trainer. I could understand, maybe even condone the reasoning behind that, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. For fuck's sake, I'm supposed to be the protagonist! Not fodder like that blonde ball of nerves in the corner!

I needed to calm down. Fiddling with my belt, I unclipped Bel's pokeball and released him on my lap, the light coalescing into an increasingly heavier ball of fur.

"Pi?" The pichu tilted his head up to look quizzically at me.

"Hey, Bel." I greeted him, anxiousness already fading away. "Yeah, I know I said you wouldn't battle today, but I thought you'd like company."

He stared flatly at me. I sighed defeatedly. "All right, sorry. I'm nervous, and I wanted someone by my side."

"Chaa!" A smug air came to him and he jumped on my shoulder, patting me condescendingly on the neck.

I haughtily turned my nose aside. "Don't get the wrong idea, fuzzball. I'd have gotten Eole or Sedna but they need to be focused. You were just the most convenient."

That shut him up real quick, as he slumped down in a hilarious fireman's carry. Happy with my one-upping him, I fished a piece of paper from my pocket, B53. The one displayed on the wall had coincidentally just changed to B52.

It seemed to be the blonde wimp's turn as he nervously smoothed out his clothes and let the attendant usher him to the arena

"Snrk!"

Wha-

What had started as a lone chortle escalated into a whole room laughing uproariously. Eyes wide and darting around, my stomach dropped at seeing the whole room turned in my direction.

Another snicker on my shoulder made me whirl back to the current bane of my existence laughing his ass off, pointing above me.

It was me, they were laughing at me because Bel had made my hair stand vertically on my head. I needed to salvage this.

Tying to appear good natured, I stood up and bowed like Will would have done. "Thank you! Thank you! You can find me here every Saturday."

Straightening up, I scooped Bel up who had 'unfortunately' slipped from my shoulder and sat back, hoping my tanned complexion keft any embarrassment from being too noticeable.

Bel was still snickering, so I ruffled the soft tuft of hair on his head. That made two of us trying to rein in on our scraggly genetics.

The gym trainer then called for the next challenger and I hurriedly recalled Bel and futilely pawed at my scalp while making my way through the corridor leading to the arena.

Passed the dimly lit corridor, the first thing I noticed was the layout of the arena itself. Piles of upturned dirt, rocks and piles of sand were scattered, seemingly at random and forming two fields.

The smaller one was already occupied with a battle involving a brown haired gym trainer and the blonde guy from earlier. And he seemed to be winning two-to-one. That was surprising, maybe I shouldn't have judged him so harshly.

I was then nudged by the official and looked at him askance. "That guy isn't done yet, is he?"

He shook his head. "There aren't anymore advanced challenges for the day. Leader Shingen is going to take the remaining ones."

Suspicious, I turned to the other field to see that, indeed, the man whose every move I had spent the day before scrutinizing was looking impatiently at us.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to him, registering the roar of the crowd and how sweaty my palms were. As much as his name made me laugh, I had to say the man was quite intimidating, with a large mane of white hair and a stocky build to which stuck two arms I could imagine digging through granite.

We exchanged a handshake that left me reeling at the sandpaper-y feel of his palm. "Welcome to the Viridian Gym, challenger," he said in a surprising nasally voice. "Please, link your pokedex with your chosen fighters." I did so and he continued. "Alright, it'll be a three-on-three. Only one switch and one item allowed in battle. I trust you've read the waiver before signing it, there shall be no targeting the crowd or me. If you decide to return a pokemon, it will be forfeited and can no longer re-enter the field. I also reserve the right to have you switch your pokemon twice, you can reintroduce those to the battle later. Now, take your position on the green side."

I nodded in compliance and made way through half the field, inwardly hating the fact it was essentially a two vs three, since Bel's only offense and defense was his electricity.

Next to my designated area was a set of microphone and speaker I believed were linked to an identical one on Shingen's side. It rang out, "Call your first pokemon!" I saw him throw a pokeball as I released my first one.

The opposite light coalesced into a bulky bipedal creature around two feet tall. Blue, almond-shaped eyes stared at us impassively as Eole and I inspected the opposing sandshrew.

"Set." I called, as Eole's from shimmered purple.

"Rollout!" Shingen roared, and the sandshrew curled up into a fantastic imitation of a yellow volley-ball before rocketing towards Eole.

"Pull on a limb!"

A dozen feet away from contact, the psychic tendril connected the two pokemon, and a chubby arm peeked out of the previously tightly sealed sandshrew. It swerved right and up in the air before crashing belly first on a boulder.

I winced but pressed the advantage. "Jump and Flash!" Sandshrew had notoriously fragile eyesight, as they were native to caves.

Eole jumped toward the still dazed pangolin and I covered my eyes with a forearm as my starter cried out a trill. I _really_ needed those goggles right now.

"Triii!"

Focusing back on the battle, I was met with the sandshrew flailing and furiously pawing at his eyes.

"Eole, stay put!" I called, fixing my own opponent with an uncomfortable look.

On the opposite side, the massive man deeply inhaled, his torso nearly doubling in size before he flared his nostrils and breathed out. "Return," he said, returning the still shrieking sandshrew.

"Switch your pokemon out, challenger!" He barked at me, some enmity slipping into the command.

I fumbled around my belt, acting like I was hesitating for a moment, hoping for him to lose patience and send his own before I did.

He did lose patience, but sadly didn't release any pokemon, choosing instead to scream at me to get on with it.

With a resigned sigh, I unclipped Bel's pokeball and sent him out. "Sorry for this, Bel. You're only scouting, I promise."

A flash of white called my attention back to the field, where I barely caught glimpse of an orange-red backside hurriedly furrowing into the ground.

"Bel, don't panic. I'm getting you back at the first sign of danger. Now, Rush around the field. Don't be predictable, and look out for anything shifting under you."

I wasn't really fond of long strings of instructions, prefering clear and concise commands that were rehearsed before. At least, Bel had gotten it, confirming with a "Pi!" before taking off running around the field, white trails of aura leaving his form at every sharp turn and zigzag.

After a dozen seconds, Shingen stomped his feet, prompting me to roar a warning to Bel just as the ground cracked under his feet. A large maw emerged and snapped loudly, the clamping sound resonating around the arena.

Reflexively more than anything, Bel had escaped the trapinch's jaws and clapped back with a wild and uncontrolled Thundershock. Obviosuly unaffected, the over-sized antlion jumped at Bel in a Tackle, sending the both of them tumbling down a dune of sand.

"Sand Tomb!"

Hearing that made me snap furiously at the _fucking dead man_ on the opposite end. I felt my teeth grind as I pointed Bel's pokeball and recalled him. The red ray of light hit him while he was struggling to get out of the sand trap.

Feeling murderous, I released my third and last pokeball on the field. Sedna turning quizzically my way, understanding right away it was time to get serious.

I pointed at where the sand was still whirling, some twenty feet away and snarled out, "Drown that thing, it could have killed Bel."

Nodding grimly, my feebas rapidly floated towards the creature and unleashed a torrent of water down the tomb.

Every time the trapinch tried to burrow back down, Sedna would increase the volume and pressure of her stream, rooting the thing in place.

The whole time, I was fixing Shingen. Until he decided to forfeit his trapinch and return him. Another white ray heralded a new arrival on the field.

I had to do a double-take because the rhyhorn seemed to be twice as large as the one in my examination, with a much darker hide as well, marking her a female. "The offspring of my most powerful pokemon," the large man clarified.

My eyes sharpening down on the hulking rhino, I called, "Sedna, Water Sport! We'll need a lot of mud."

Sedna raised her head and spun, dousing a twenty foot wide arc in front of her. Hopefully it would hamper any attempt at their species' notoriously dangerous charge.

"Shock Wave!"

For fuck's sake…

The rhyhorn bellowed a battle cry, blue sparks coalescing on the tip of its horn as I screamed hurriedly, "Douse her! I want her drenched!"

Heading my call, Sedna's cheeks bulged and launched a wide, under-pressured stream of water on the still charging rhyhorn. Even with our training, her tank must be close to empty, and there were no body of water she could use to replenish her reserves. Already, I could see her water getting progressively darker and murkier, revealing all the impurities she was taught to avoid. It'd help in this particular case, however.

A glance back at our opponent revealed her immediate area swampy and humid, but still not to the point it could derail an electric attack.

With a roar, the Shock Wave was launched at Sedna, connecting halfway through with the still-going jet of water. Her wail of pain reached my ears, making me cringe at the sight of her spasming.

I fished out her scubaball and was about to hit the recall before the electricity dissipated, leaving Sedna's skin slightly charred and burned.

Undeterred, she snapped out of her daze with a shake of the head before picking up her move once again. This time, with the rhyhorn groaning in lament, obviously struggling when faced with a double threat to his natural aura.

"Sedna! Go for a-"

"Switch your pokemon out, challenger!"

My eyes zoned in on the old man in consternation.

I grit my teeth and acted like I didn't hear a thing, buying Sedna the precious seconds it would take to properly neutralize the Shock Wave threat.

"Green trainer gets a first warning!" An automated voice came from the speaker at my feet. I ignored it, the first warning was all talk. The second would automatically return the pokemon on the field, and the third and last one would mean disqualification.

"Green trainer gets a second warning!" Came the voice once again, mixing with the boos of the crowd and a loud buzzing alarm forcing Sedna back into her ball.

Palming my last pokeball, I replaced it with Sedna's and slotted it into the panel, automatically releasing Eole back on the field.

"Eole, Set!"

"Horn Attack!"

The rhyhorn was trembling, be it because of the cold or his natural weakness, I didn't know. She still managed to stumble out of the muddy area and began charging at Eole, her horn and head flashing white.

A purple psychic tendril rocketed towards the stampeding beast, connecting with the togepi.

"Slam!" I shrieked.

Eole raised his arms above his head, before slamming them back down, voicing his strain with a cry.

The dashing rhyhorn's jaw viciously collided with the ground, making her roar in pain as she skidded on the rocky ground, digging a furrow for a few feet.

"Extrasensory-Touch! Go for the eyes!"

With a reset of the psychic link, Eole rushed at the still prone rhyhorn, who suddenly glowed red, the coating light retreating to the opposite side.

"The green trainer wins."

The crowd's mixed opinion of my battle finally registered to my ears as I whistled for Eole to come back and released both Bel, who still looked fresh bar a nasty bruise on his torso, and Sedna who wavered in the air for a second.

I jumped down from my platform and hugged the togepi's deceptively heavy body close to me. "You did wonderful, Eole. We're celebrating tonight. Could you begin patching up Sedna and Bel?"

With a trill, my togepi nodded and wiggled out of my grasp. I kissed the top of his head and deposited him near the others.

Leaving them with quick congratulations and a promise to talk more later, I made my way to the middle round, where Shingen awaited me with a firm, grating handshake and an intense stare.

Not willing to concede anything, I returned his glare back at him. He kept it up for what felt like minutes until it went back to an assessing one.

"I've seen viciousness before, back in my homeland." His stare gained a far away quality to it. "We just _had_ to be absolutely ruthless there, and I had hoped to leave most of that behind."

He lowered his gaze back to meet mine. "Apparently, they only get younger in the mainland." He chuckled bitterly. "Telling you to stop cultivating that part of yourself would be the height of hypocrisy coming from me of all people. However, do hear the advice of a man with many a regret, if you would."

He slammed a meaty hand on my shoulder. "No matter what fate lays ahead of you, do tread lightly on the path of spite, as it is most easy to stray too deep down it." His arms went back to his side, fishing something out of his pocket. "I would like to personally judge of your progress, so come back for an official challenge when you're ready for it."

Bending at the back, he pinned the Earth Badge on my jacket. "Stop by the awards desk to receive your cash prize." With these final words, he turned back on his heels and took his position back to the center of the bigger field, awaiting his next challenge.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, sorry for taking so long to update.**

**First of all, the battles, I'd say it's a pretty action-packed chapter, a first. So tell me what you think of it, knowing that the level is still pretty low in terms of skill and raw power displayed. I did try to make them interesting and engaging anyway, but it still comes down to whether you guys liked it or not.**

**I also know some of you will possibly have a problem with Shingen. Aaand I got it covered, cuz I'm awesome like that. He's not an OC, as you probably already know if you've played Pokemon Conquest before.**

**So, yeah. I doubt I would involve any OC in this story as there are way too much characters in the franchise to use.**

**Lastly, I would like to recommend Sacrifice and Subjugation to any of you who still hasn't tried it. MetalDargon is like, a major influence in my writing and world-building. In fact, I would definitely cram it into my Top 3 of the Pokemon fandom, with Traveler and Storm Warning.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, and followed the story. It's been a blast writing it so far^^**


	7. Follow The Leader

**A/N: New chapter, yay! ****Bit of drama today. Everyone likes i****t****in small doses, or**** at least I do. ****And I**** actuall****y **_**need**_** some of that to add more body to the characters and make them a tad more likeable and relatable. ****I****t is what it is, ****I guess**

**S****omeone mentioned forgetting the team ****members**** and their name****s between each new chapter****. ****I****t makes sense, since my updating schedule ****has been**** somewhat sporadic ****of late****. So, ****Eole is a male togepi, Sedna's a female feebas, and Bel is a male pichu, who may or may not be linked to Anime-Pikachu.**

**W****e're also introducing a new member in this chapter. Now, I'm going to ask you not to begrudge my choice, ****which is based on specific criteria.**** First of em being the enjoyment I'd get out of writing them, and secondly their uniqueness in the Pokemon fandom. **

**Anyway, ****here we go with your trimestrial dose of intellectual masturbation and whatnot.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 : **Follow The Leader

* * *

"_Don't be the Tywin they need, or even the Eddard they want. Be the Tyrion you want to be._" - Unknown. I'll say it's from me if nobody ever said it, though. Unless someone did, in which case I shall still claim it and be ready to duke it out over bragging rights.

* * *

Even at my slow, leisurely pace, the forest quickly came into view, and I found myself stopping before it for a moment, the sheer diversity of flora present demanding my attention. Some trees stretched up to the heavens, others miraculously got enough sunlight to grow foliage low and thick enough I suspected there would be frost come nightfall. Those were also the reason for my purchase of an actual map earlier, what with them rendering the GPS feature of the pokedex entirely useless.

I was also surprised to note the absence of a ranger barrack or anything of the sort. It was almost like the Viridian citizens had full confidence in the ten miles separating the forest from them to keep any pokemon incursion from reaching the city.

Admittedly, there weren't much dangers residing in the area to begin with. And you'd have to be pretty stupid to venture far enough to the west and the woods bordering Mt. Silver, where the meanest and strongest creatures of the Kanjoh continent actually lurked. So, yeah, it actually made sense the League wouldn't station too much personal here, where the actual biggest threats were a recluse colony of scyther and the occasional wandering ursaring or arbok.

It still made for a damn challenging trial for a rookie in his second month of training. And what would you know, I was one of those!

Crossing the treeline with a pep in my step and a song stuck in my head, I was amazed by the spacious interior. It genuinely looked like a commercial district, with century old trees instead of skyscrapers, and large, thorny bushes covering for… well, maybe I should give up on metaphors, they clearly aren't my thing.

However, the gargantuan proportions of basically everything made for a somewhat unnerving vibe around the place. It made sense, given that the forest was essentially a giant natural maze. In these large expanses, chances were that I could wander for weeks without even realizing I was drifting in circles. It would be even worse once I'd stray from the beaten paths.

The smirk still present on my face stretched from ear to ear. Fuck yeah! Now that's what I call an adventure!

* * *

_Thunk! __Cl-clang! Clang!_

"Triii!"

"Fuck!"

The moss I had just slipped on made way for dirt as I scrunched my hands into fists, steadfastly ignoring Bel and Eole's giggling.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up midgets," I grumbled, miffed, as I began to pick up the fallen logs and twigs. "If you can still find it in yourselves to laugh, then I'm sure you'll help me carry these, won't you?"

With a grumble not unlike mine, Eole's Flash wavered, glowing purple instead before he levitated the remaining half dozen logs.

Turning to the still snickering pichu, I tried for my best severe glare. "And you, Bel." He froze. "You're on Flash duty. Now c'mon, I don't want to leave Sedna alone for too long." God only knows how she'd do it, but I was convinced she'd somehow do worse than pick a fight with a teddiursa of all things, like she did the day before.

Random factor aside, that encounter had been my first wake-up call of the journey. Not because we couldn't take it on, but because of the implied threat looming around. For where there was a teddiursa, an ursaring would inexorably follow, and no one wanted to mess with one of those. That was a rule of the forest, as the multiple plank signs at the entrance of the forest attested.

I mean, challenging apex predators was on my to-do-list, obviously. But at the moment, it was closer to the end of it than where I currently sat, at step three – or was it four?

That meant even though I had briefly entertained the idea of catching the cub, I ultimately opted to promptly turn tail and power walk my way out of the area, my eyes darting around for the typical claw indents marking its species' territory.

There was also the fact that my team was beginning to look like what a girl just getting into Pokemon would like to have. Adding a facsimile of a plush bear would undoubtedly mess with the image of the self-aware bad boy I wanted to market throughout my training career. Gary in the anime had the right idea. Rooting for the underdog was for idiots and naive little shits watching anime for the first time. I would know, I was one of those not too long ago. Still am, but I'd have what it takes too back up my arrogance soon.

Extracting myself out of these thoughts of glory was always tedious for me, but I managed to shake them off as we arrived to the dimly illuminated clearing we claimed as ours for the last couple of days.

Tomorrow would mark the end of our first full week inside the forest. The first four days had been spent wandering around without any particular directions except the vague one of avoiding straying West too much. I wanted to stray away from the beaten path, yes, but not to get lost. That'd be dumb of me.

I had entered into the forest with two goals in mind. The first was obviously to get to the other side and reach Pewter City. However, and most importantly, I also intended to experiment with my team's abilities and mine.

Settling down for a couple of days had done wonders for them back in Route 1, as would attest the Earth Badge sitting nice and tight on my badge case. Eole had developed his psychic abilities to a level I wouldn't have imagined possible at his age. Sedna had grown to be a formidable powerhouse, still unbeaten to this day. And I was pretty sure Bel was stronger than any wild pichu alive.

In the meantime, I'd say I kind of plateaued. I did try meditation every night before sleeping and every morning after waking up, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Not even a calming one, since I would then inevitably grow frustrated at the fruitless endeavor.

It reached a point where even the sensory improvements I had noticed back in Pallet looked to have regressed as well. There was also the matter of my trusty bow that wouldn't cut it anymore once I began throwing myself at more daring adventures. It was still a way before that, but it never hurt to anticipate.

I was beginning to consider giving up on Aura altogether and 'settle' on making things go boom. Hopefully, my last resort would come in clutch and give me some answers once I got where I needed to be. It would force me to rethink my training plans and routes, but we weren't all that pressed for time at the moment.

All that to say, I still had more than two years before competing in the Conference, and around nine months before the Junior Conference came around. It wasn't much, but it was enough not to warrant power-rushing the circuit.

There may have been a few time-sensitive events I thought would weigh on my mind, like what would eventually happen to the wild pokemon of Mt. Moon, or Ash's Bulbasaur and Charmander.

However, the truth was that I didn't particularly care about them. In my mind, I had without a doubt played the biggest role in Team Rocket's downfall, and that had to count for something, since I virtually prevented the majority of those from happening. U had my karma points.

There was also the fact that I had no clue when or where exactly the events would take place. Take for example the expanse between Cerulean and Vermillion, its road distance was around two-hundred kilometers. I would have to overload on my alleged protagonist powers to meet with Ash's original team members, and I was kind of leery of using them. The way I saw it, they were a finite resource, and I had a feeling I would need them even more than original Ash did.

And this is why time-travel and foreknowledge are fucking bullshit. Either you use what you know to change things and well… things change. Or you don't do a thing, and you've wasted an opportunity.

So to be perfectly honest, I genuinely couldn't bring myself to care about any pokemon or person Ash&Co had saved in the anime. I would halfheartedly prevent any apocalyptic stuff to the best of my abilities since I hoped to live a good and long life, but anymore than that and I would draw the line.

Was it selfish not to try and save Charmander? Yeah, maybe.

…

That was all, I really didn't need to invent a reason or lie to myself to sleep peacefully at night. If there ever was a chance for redemption down the line without sacrificing too much, I would make the most of it, but I could ignore misery in this life as much as everyone else did back on Terran-Earth.

Shaking my head out of another thinking tangent, I came back to and realized I had already set up camp on auto-pilot. Goddamn, I could feel my manliness leveling up.

With a smile, I left Bel and Eole to their cheerful chat and called Sedna to my side, proceeding to rummage around my backpack. My hand came back with a bag of freshly killed weedle, as I emptied one and fed it to her. Seeing her tear into the bug filled me with newfound fondness instead of the usual queasy feeling. It really grew old after a time. "Good girl! Now, be patient and go wait for dinner with the others."

I then began the laborious and delicate task of extracting the stingers and poison sacs from the rest of them. It really was a pain to do all this. It felt like too much work for not enough reward, but Sedna seemingly preferred them to the much more convenient caterpie, as she proved it by zeroing in on the cleaned off pile.

She lunged in to steal a couple before I grabbed the base of her dorsal fin and yanked her up to meet her sharp, dark eyes, having anticipated it. She had tried it before, but with a non-emptied one. I made a point of giving her at least one to eat per meal, as a sort of reprimand, but also out of hope it could serve her to develop some minor poison resistance.

She thrashed and snarled at me, a growl emerging from her shark-like jaw. I leveled at her a disappointed glare and gradually eased the pinch on her fin until she decided to avert her eyes and drift back on her own.

I made a show of turning my back to her, nodding reassuringly to the now standing Bel and Eole. I suppressed a sigh and picked up where I left with the weedle."You know the rules, Sedna. We either eat all together or none of us do."

She was growing more and more feral every day, and the previous reassurances from Samuel calling it normal behavior didn't lift one bit of the lump in my throat. If anything, it added to it, since she seemed to fare much worse than predicted.

Even Bel and Eole had begun to distance themselves from her these days. I couldn't really blame them, they weren't even one year old if you combined their age, while Sedna was just north of two years old – still young, yes, but she was obviously playing third wheel in here.

I had tried everything I could at this point. Giving her space didn't do shit, nagging at her made things worse, and it hurt to know I wasn't able to help her. Was that how fathers with teenage girls felt? Maybe she needed a friend of her own? Bel and Eole had each other, it would only be fair for her to have a kindred spirit of her own.

Yeah, that sounded like an idea. I didn't really plan on catching any of the pokemon native to the area, and it would be even harder since I would have to find one willing to go with us. Would it really be worth the effort?*

I looked over my shoulder at Sedna, and found her sulking in a corner near a pond. It was going to be a long few weeks without Samuel's advice.

* * *

"Fuck yeah Bel! You got it now!" I cried to the heavens as Bel showed off his newly learned move, gliding around the flattest clearing we had found, thin dancing sparks pushing him away from the ground.

Magnet Rise – I still had no idea how he got the hang of the move, but the crazy lunatic did. And with no help of my own. Maybe there _was_ some credence to Team Rocket's obsession with Anime Pikachu, assuming it was him. Not that it mattered anymore, Bel would surpass that weakling in every single aspect.

"C'mon Bel, you'll have time later. Cut it out or you'll regret it soon."

Not heeding my warning, the little maniac lost himself to the rush of the new sensation. That was until his focus abruptly wavered, making him pour too much juice on his feet and launch himself in the air.

He wasn't going too fast, but he did pick up enough momentum he ended up bouncing off on dirt, then gravel, and finally sinking in the shallow water of the stream.

An indignant squawk made me hurry to Bel's side, who was currently nursing a variety of bruises and bumps, with one more prominent than the others on his left.

His darkening cheek pouches sparked menacingly at a smug looking Sedna. Sadly, the past few weeks made it easy to connect the dots and believe her to be the reason for the bruise on Bel's stomach.

Steeling myself, I stood between them and stared neutrally at Sedna, innerly conflicted at the course of action necessary.

My face was kept carefully blank as I turned to Bel first, kneeling to his level and ignoring the wetness of my clothes. "Buddy, I'm sorry this happened. I'm really proud of you, and you should be as well. I'll make sure that you know it later, though. Now, I've got something to do and _you_ need to get an Eole check-up." I nodded in my starter's direction, who was watching us in worry, his own training interrupted and forgotten. "Go get yourself Eole'd up."

With a tussle of his soft tuft of hair, I pushed him gently, as he perked up a bit and joined Eole, who welcomed his teammate with a concerned trill and began fussing over his scuffed fur, much to the pichu's discomfort. Then it looked like Eole mentioned Bel's previous achievement, the latter regaining his default smug air and launching himself in one of his usual tirade.

A sigh escaped me this time. I used to think shrugging and sighing weren't appropriate in real life, and were only used to narrate, but I stand corrected now that I was confronted with actual problems.

Looking back to the irritated feebas, I got out of the water and spotted a pond farther upstream. I must have missed it earlier.

"Sedna," I finally addressed her. "Please come with me, we need to talk."

She flared her nostrils and turned the other way.

Irritation flared up in my gut, I quashed it down. "Sedna..." I tried again, with as much sincerity as I could.

Something must have slipped in my voice, as she looked back, somewhat ashamed. She then snorted and began heading upstream toward the pond, prompting me to follow her.

Looking down at the gravel, I picked up a few of the roundest pebbles and stuffed them in my pockets. Sedna was steadfastly swimming a few paces ahead of me, continuing to effortlessly go against the current. I knew she could have gotten there already and the fact that she didn't boded well for our talk.

As we approached the pond, she sped up ahead and dived down. A few seconds later, a half-dozen poliwag emerged and scattered away into the treeline, followed by a smug looking Sedna with a random fish wriggling its tail in her maw.

My smirk mirrored hers, letting the schadenfreude vibe wash over me. Could it even be considered bullying when you were out in the wilderness?

"Sit with me?" I asked, as I plopped down on the muddy bank.

She gulped down the fish and swam over, stopping a couple feet away and facing the opposite way.

We sat on the shore in silence as I collected my thoughts, wondering what exactly I could say to try and fix things. I absentmindedly launched a pebble in the air, hoping Sedna would take the bait.

She did, spitting out a controlled Water Gun up and ahead, which knocked the pebble and launched it somewhere in the treeline.

It was something we used to do whenever we found ourselves a body of water to fill up her reserves, back in Route 1. It felt like such a long time ago.

We repeated it a dozen times until I finally had a rough outline of where to steer the conversation.

"Sedna?" She halfheartedly glanced back at me, disinterested. "Could y- I… think I have an idea of what happened earlier with Bel. Could you confirm it for me?"

She turned around to face me and barked in irritation, telling me to get on with it.

"I might have misjudged, since I didn't really see the whole thing. But correct me if I'm wrong – you were training in the stream on your own, right?" She clicked her tongue and nodded. "Then I think Bel crashed somewhere near you and let a few volts escape him, which hit you, is that it?" Another nod, this one much more agitated, I was losing her.

"You realize he most likely didn't do it on purpose, yeah?" She barked at me but I cut her off swiftly. "No, you listen Sed! I saw your face back there, you didn't shoot him accidentally."

I sharply blew through my nose, a hand coming up to pass through my greasy hair. "We don't do that here, Sedna. You wanna take your frustrations out on something, you go and find yourself a magikarp to mess with or whatever. I don't care what you do as long as you don't piss off something we can't help you knock out."

Big, dark eyes creased and glared at me in defiance as if to say 'where do you want to go with that?'. I deflated, unable to muster any more vitriol against her of all people.

"Sedna…" I began once again. "I- I really am clueless on what to do here. I knew there would be some fights between us at the beginning, but… this doesn't feel like just a simple row." My eyes couldn't meet hers. "Are you… don't you enjoy being with us anymore?"

She didn't utter a sound.

"It's just… It wasn't so long ago I felt we were one big family, then you became really aggressive. I thought it was fun back when you directed it at wild pokemon, we would get together and beat them up. It let us grow stronger, together, and eat something different every night. It was… nice. Then you ended up growing stronger than Eole and Bel, you obviously realized it when we won the Gym battle, because things got worse at around that time."

It took some time, trying to find some steel against someone I felt actual affection for. It was hard. What came up in the end was certain to look more desperate than resolute. It hurt even more, but she luckily looked conflicted as well.

"Now, you crossed a line. You struck Bel – _your_ _teammate –_ with malicious intent, just to be mean."

I took a couple of deep breaths. "We like you Sedna, you know it, and I hope you at least appreciate our company. I'm not sure if what I'm going to say will hurt you as much as it does me, but it's time I put my foot down, here.

"One, if you still got any love for us, you will actively try to be a part of this team. I'm not talking about only battling or training. You have a right not to get along with some or maybe all of your teammates, but I refuse to see you live like that."

Another few seconds passed, where I hesitated to give the ultimatum, forcing myself to look her in the eyes. "Your second choice… It's to leave us… You can tell me where you'd like to be released, and I will do so. No strings attached. I owe you this much. If you really want it, I can get you back to Cinnabar's bay, where we met."

My voice trembled. "You've probably grown strong enough not to fear any of-" Something crashed in my midsection, knocking the wind out of me, and sending me tumbling a few feet back.

Ignoring my momentary inability to breath, I lifted my guard up, taking note of Sedna's growling and darting my eyes around, feeling my senses grow sharper.

A few moments passed without any more tell of a present threat. Realization then dawned on me, as I fixed the still snarling Sedna with a disbelieving look.

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" I screamed at her.

She barked a counter that I obviously didn't understand. What I could

register instead, were the tears welling up in her eyes.

The wind left my sails and I hurried to kneel at her level to engulf her in my arms. She thrashed, trying to slip past the embrace. I didn't know what I was doing, but I knew that letting her go would be disastrous. Wouldn't it be even worse if I didn't let her go, though? I was so very confused, and stubborn enough not to let go even through the grazing bites on my torso. It felt like minutes passed until furious mania made way for trembles and blood made way for wet splotches on my shredded shirt.

"I'm sorry." I finally said, my voice wavering in time to the tremors of her sobs. She tried to bite at a love handle gone after these intense few months. She had stopped doing that a few days into our stay in Route 1, it was painful, but I used to took it as a show of affection.

I snorted. "Heh, yeah I guess it doesn't really count until I'm crooning over piano keys or crying in the rain, huh?"

My feeble attempt at banter granted me a few seconds where she seemed to have regained her cool. It was time I gave something in return, and I wouldn't stop until I made my point across.

"I have a purpose you know?" I began, slowly feeling conviction and grit coming back to me. "We usually all have one, like, say the dumbest rattata on earth who only tries to survive day by day, or a caterpie who looks at his parents and wishes to fly by their side, or, I don't know, a gyarados seeking to destroy and tear down everything crossing its path. I also don't believe a purpose is an unalterable concept. I think it can be changed. A man could have the grandest dreams of conquest and the greatest ambitions, yet abandon everything for a woman's love, his purpose having now transformed to that of granting his family the most comfortable life he can."

I lifted her to meet her gaze. It was disconcerting, being face to face with an over-sized fish and having a heartfelt philosophic conversation with her, but her wide, round eyes conveyed vague understanding of what I said. It was enough for me to continue, as I deposited her deceptively heavy frame on my lap.

"Again, I have a purpose too. And I'm… scared, I guess… scared of fulfilling it one day, because I know the path to it will be infinitely more fun than actually reaching the end. I want to have friends around me who make my life better simply by being a part of it. And I want to be strong enough to protect them. That's you, you're one of them." I punctuated the statement by squeezing her a bit tighter.

"Now, you're probably asking why I'm telling you all this stuff, right?" She nodded, her eyes having regained the childish spark of wonder I had missed so much this past month.

I nodded as well and considered my answer. "I don't… No." I shook my head. "There is no good answer to this. You'll have to find your own, and open up to me like I did once you're ready. For now, take your time and think over it, okay hun?"

She nodded resolutely, and I wordlessly got up, gently easing my grasp on her until she drifted back. Our eyes met, and we nodded to each other, as I felt a sort of link reconnecting. I apparently had a knack for parenting, who saw that coming? Certainly not I, I thought as we made our way back to the camp in companionable silence, a sharp contrast to the earlier walk.

A chortle escaped me, Sedna skeptically side-eyeing me, as Bel and Eole rushed to meet us, having seen our approach. I gave them a reassuring nod, telling them things had been smoothed out.

Looking at my team – at my family, I clapped my hands. "Alright guys! I've made up my mind. It's high time we got ourselves a proper challenge."

I took on my best drill sergeant voice and clamored. "You already know it, but I wish to have the most interesting life I can live. And you," I grandly pointed at them, their gazes shining excitedly. "You, good sirs and madam, have made the wisest decision of your lives by choosing to go with me. We're here to have adventures, and I find this forest to be pretty lacking in that department. Do you think so as well?!"

Eole, Sedna and Bel loudly cheered, their aura lighting up.

An epiphany struck me as my senses heightened in response to my excitement. "I want to feel my blood boiling! I want to feel my pulse race. I want to feel dizzy. I want to feel my heart pounding in my ears! Who is up for that?!"

I could feel every single hair on my body raise in response to my proclamation. My team's collective glow coming together into a blinding array of colors.

"We ain't getting away from this forest before we find the meanest, biggest and most dangerous creatures living in it! I want to find them and I want to beat them up! Again, guys!"

I raised my arms to the skies and screamed to the heavens. "_Who the fuck is __up for i__t__?!_"

A loud crashing sound merged with our deafening cries. Thin threes to the side toppled over as a massive form emerged from the shadows of the treeline.

I seized up the newly arrived ursaring for a moment before I turned back towards my team and met each of their gaze in turn. I smiled like the cat who had caught, enslaved and subjugated the canary race. The short fur on this one's shoulders marked him a male. That meant there would be no guilt over potentially leaving young cubs on their own.

A foreign sensation coursed through my veins as the world became so much more _vivid_ around me. I could pick out every single blade of grass, pebble and leaf in my direct periphery. The smell of water and ozone filled my nostrils, as well as the distinctive acidic scent of psychic type. My eyes rolled back in their sockets following a sharp tingle enclosing every inch of skin on my body. This was what I lacked before – Willpower.

Coming back to with a start, I heard a pain-stricken roar and looked back in time to see the massive bear reeling back in pain, clutching his right eye with a dripping wet paw. He was now only thirty meters away. I remembered a teddiursa evolved at level thirty in the games, and this specimen didn't look particularly scarred or battle-hardy, we could definitely take him.

"Aye, Sedna! Drench him, keep the stream wide and focused on his face. Bel, gimme as big a Charged T-Wave as you can and Charge again after that. Eole, I need an X-Smell, stat!" Ursaring were the same as terran bears in that their sense of smell were extremely sensitive. Multiplying its effectiveness with Extrasensory would deal some damage even without any particularly strong scent.

Sedna was already hard at work, dousing her opponent and severely constraining his progress. I guesstimated she could keep up that output for about two minutes top. We had that much time to take him out, or we needed to relocate near water. The widest stretch of the stream was an option, I could get my bow from there, but a wiser choice would be the pond from earlier.

At the same time, a familiar purple tendril had linked Eole with the thrashing assailant, who had been struggling to keep his face away from the jet of water, his breath coming in haggard and desperate inhales. My starter's eyes keenly sharpened and the ursaring froze, eyes dilated and nostrils flared before roaring out in absolute agony shortly after.

His wails of torment rose louder in crescendo to the point I began to feel somewhat bad for him. That was before Bel cried out and launched a positively impressive Thunder Wave. It struck the downed opponent square on the chest.

The howls redoubled as arcs of lightning danced through his fur and his muscles bulged and spasmed. A light blue glow coalesced on his paws before he violently and repeatedly smashed them against the ground, leaving scarily deep gouges on the dirt that scattered debris in the air, forming a thick cloud of dust.

"Sedna! Water Sport!"

My feebas puffed up her cheeks and spat out water like a garden nozzle-hose.

I waited with bated breath and sweat rolling down my temple for the few seconds it took for the dust to settle. It revealed the ursaring that was harshly breathing, doubled over several foot-deep craters littering his immediate surroundings.

The rise and fall of his chest stilled, my own following unconsciously, before he threw his head back and _roared_. This bellow was primal in a way none of the previous were. Feral and demented in its frenzy.

It abruptly stopped as he slowly hunched his head, obscured by long strands of fur. Not for long, as he sharply raised his head, his maw dripping with drool and peeled back into a vicious snarl that revealed razor sharp canines. Much more startling, however, were his eyes, glowing a dangerous red.

"Oh for fuck's sake…" I muttered.

With a final booming bellow, the ursaring rushed at us, tearing apart grass and root under his thundering steps. Not knowing what to do, I instinctively unstrapped the hunting knife from its thigh-sheath and assumed a stance that felt strangely natural – knees slightly crouched, tip of the knife pointed ahead and the other arm parallel to it, with the elbow stuck to the side.

Against a Guts-boosted ursaring, I doubted it could help all that much, but it obviously beat going for the fetal position.

My thighs and hips tensed as I got ready to sidestep the charge, before the behemoth cried out in pain as lightning danced around his fur and made him seize up, crashing and skidding to a stop a mere dozen meters in front of me.

"Holy shit…" A whisper escaped me. I quickly took stock of my surroundings and decided on a course of action, nodding to myself before turning tail and running towards the pond. "Eole! Jump on my shoulder and trip him up whenever he comes close! Bel follow me, we need to get to the pond."

Passing by him, my very first partner hopped on my shoulder, facing back towards our no doubt still frenzied opponent. I kept him in place with a hand and scooped up Sedna under the other. Bel could naturally run on his own, but a fish couldn't fly all that fast. I mean, yeah…

We managed to accomplish our escape – no, our aggressive retreat –with a combination of Eole's tactical tugs on the ursaring's feet and his paralyzed state making his muscles seize up at the right moments that let us stay ahead of his rampaging rage. God, I didn't dare imagine what we would have done had the beast's ability been Quick Feet instead.

And what a beast that over-sized fuzzball was. As much as Eole, Bel and Sedna were growing to be fearsome fighters in their own distinctive way, I had serious doubt about their ability to survive a Guts-enhanced Hammer Arm. Maybe Eole Curled up and Sedna could tank a normal hit, perhaps even two, but not any more and certainly not without lasting damage.

We were nearly by the pond when I finally realized what I had was less of a plan and more of an image of the words 'Water', 'Angry Baloo' and 'Profit' linked with three drawn lines.

In a matter of seconds, I had thought up and ultimately discarded dozens of half-assed instructions to my pokemon. I was growing increasingly desperate, before something _clicked_.

Me. _I_ was a factor as well. I had promised myself I wouldn't be a burden to anyone. That I wouldn't ask any of them to do something I wasn't, if not capable, then at least willing to do myself. I also had the most meat of all of us, automatically making me the primary target for the big guy's ire.

Fuck yeah. "Sedna, I'm throwing you in the water. Wait for an opening and go for the tail, I'm gonna give you one." I abruptly said before doing just that, pitching her underhanded. I nearly tripped before regaining balance, ignoring her resentful look as I chanced a look behind to see the ursaring hot on our heels.

"Eole, give me an X-Sight and a Flash, then use Defense Curl. I'm going to kick you to the other side, so wait on the shore." I turned to the pichu at my side. "Bel, go wait there too and start a Charge We'll need your best stuff."

Having closed my eyes, I felt a stronger disturbance coming from my starter, and a louder crash than usual coming from behind me. Eole tapped my hand and got into a ball before rolling down my torso and into my waiting arms. With a quick apology, I lightly tossed him in front of me and volleyed him away as hard as I could.

I didn't wait to see where he landed, going with the motion instead and taking off my heavy jacket before diving into the murky water of the pond. Having underestimated its deepness, I hit my fingers on the gravel, probably breaking a knuckle or two in the process.

Ignoring the pain, I scurried as fast as I could into deeper water and swam harder than I could recall ever doing in any of my or Ash's previous lives. There was no technique behind it, only frantic beating of the arms in a vague paddling motion. Did I risk wasting some time to shed off the boots and jeans? No, it was too risky.

Reaching the rough middle of the pond, I heard faint splashes from behind and began screaming Sedna's name, desperately hoping she would understand that was the opening I was talking about.

About ten seconds passed in panicked anticipation. I had nearly reached the shore, and didn't dare to look back. Then, I felt water rippling behind me and the dreaded grunting of the ursaring.

I screwed my eyes shut and stuck my head in the water before redoubling my efforts. Clenching my teeth and ignoring the burn in my shoulders, I swam harder, dragging water in my closed palms with all the force I could muster.

It was only after hitting the shore with my forearm and forehead that I realized the absence of an ursaring breathing down my neck. Crawling on all fours to the gravelly ground, I noted Eole's presence alongside a brightly glowing Bel with an impossibly concentrated expression on his scrunched face.

In the water, great splashes and waves intertwined a few paces after the half-way line of the pond. Even through the murky water, I could distinguish a red tint to it that made my blood run cold. The lump in my throat lifted a bit once I saw Sedna emerging briefly before diving back for an attack.

"Sedna!" I screamed, but she didn't hear me, having dived under water once again. I waited for her to emerge before calling once again, finally getting her attention as she retreated away from the ursaring. "Get out of the water, quickly!"

She dived back and I saw a small mound of water circle around the perturbed area and head our way. I followed its path to the shore until it came close and Sedna jumped up in my arms.

I caught her and whispered congratulatory words to her ears, keeping my gaze trained on where the disturbances were still rippling.

The ursaring emerged once again with a roar and a gasp before he caught sight of us and made a beeline for the shore.

A surprising calmness washed over me now that I was in something of a position of power. I turned towards Eole. "We'll need an X-Touch once he comes close, alright?"

To my pichu, I said, "Bel, Let it rip at my call."

It was a few tense seconds that followed until I scooped Eole up in my arms and retreated a few steps. The ursaring was now a mere ten meters from the shore.

"Eole." His form shimmered purple and shot a connecting tendril at the incoming threat, who gave a more strained groan but kept on advancing. Looking down at Eole, I was astonished to see a faint blue light shimmering between my shirt and his purple shroud.

I shook my head and shelved that exciting fact away for the moment. Looking to the side and away from the bright light coming from Bel, I scrunched my eyes shut.

"Bel, now!"

"_CHUUU-_"

It felt like someone had just struck a gong near my head as I stumbled and caught myself on hands and knees. The ringing in my ears leaving me feeling dizzy and dimly aware of the jackhammering of my heart on my chest.

Big gulps of air filled my lungs until I was cognizant enough to blink the spots from my eyes and look for Eole and Sedna. The togepi had already recovered from the fall and cloaked himself in his power again. Sedna was giving me the stink eye, sprawled on her side and looking just as exhausted as the various nicks and scratches on her scales would let you guess.

I scooped her back up in my arms and took another few steps away from the blinding lightshow to the left. I still tried to catch sight of the immediate threat.

Panic took over me for a moment at the fact that the ursaring seemed to have vanished until I made out a bed of dark brown floating above the surface. Was tha- Was that his back?

Should I try and help the thing? I didn't really want to kill it at first, but surely he didn't chase us around just to give us a hug?

Wait! Why was Bel still glowing? Did he exert himself too much with the Thunderbolt. Fuck, that was a Thunderbolt, when did he learn that?! Pichu weren't supposed to learn that move, to my knowledge. Then again, neither have I heard of one having learned Magnet Rise.

Nah, not another tangent. I shook my head vigorously and forced my eyes to inspect his blinding form. Then came surprise at the fact that my retinas weren't burning, replaced by a warm buzzing in the air that soothed away my worries, followed by recognition of what I was witnessing, and finally topped by excitement for Bel.

I didn't avert my eyes and got to observe for the first time the spectacle that was an evolution, and I couldn't help but draw similarities between this and Eole's hatching. In fact, the memory of that event was vivid enough in my mind that I could still remember the cadence and rhythm of the light-waves emanated by the phenomenon. And they were definitely the same.

Down to the final peak of intensity, which died down and left behind an oval-shaped cocoon that lightly shattered into glittering motes of light to reveal the agile and prone body of a pikachu.

"Bel!" I cried out, rushing to his side and picking him up in my arms. He was unresponsive, as I lightly lifted him arm and let it fall- what the fuck?! A growl escaped me before I huffed and let the little shit fall down.

Having crowded around me, I could catch Eole and Sedna's shared indignation before the pikachu righted himself mid-air and touched down on all fours, in all his newly acquired mischievous glory.

Adrenaline left my system at last. That thing was useless like that, burning hot and bright and then fading quickly. I predicted a very long day trying not to let him know it was definitely a good joke.

* * *

_Yuck… Tastes like musty chicken._

We sat there, by the fire, Sedna and I painstakingly chewing on strips of grilled ekans meat. Eole and Bel had chosen to stick with Poke-chew and a few of their preferred berries from those I could pick in the wild – Pecha and Oran for Eole, and Cheri and Persim for Bel. At this point, I had no doubt my starter would chose a vanilla cone if we were to go get ice cream.

It seems Latias was right in thinking we would be a good match. I chuckled a little at that.

God, I missed ice cream. I missed a hell of a lot of things, really. Like when my ears weren't ringing nonstop, before our Bel's Thunderbolt, but food with actual flavor definitely peaked all of the charts. I had sadly used up all of my garlic and spices back in Route 1 and had omitted to restock on anything but energy bars, curing salt, soap, batteries, water purification tablets, and…

Well, I kind of did restock on all the basics, to be fair. But how could I have forgotten spices, god damn it?! I even bought two jars of peanut butter, and those were literally in the same alley of the convenience store!

Meh, I shrugged. My thoughts were particularly scattered tonight, huh?

Having lost my appetite, I looked at the still cooking ekans skewers with reluctance. They really were horribly bland. Maybe the arbok corpse we had left back in the meadow had been tastier, but they were at the top of the food chain around here for a reason. Aside from the fact they were quite strong and difficult to kill, there was the simple fact that one didn't eat fully evolved poison types just like that.

Their meat was notoriously toxic, even to a majority of fully evolved predators. To my knowledge, only a select few species had the luxury to add the big-ass snakes to their diet. Like rhydon, or a strong sandslash, and perhaps a few particular fire types, whose high body temperature could cleanse them of even the most tenacious of poisons.

Dare I even mention snorlax as well? Kind of, yeah, but everybody knew they didn't discriminate against anyone. Everything was potential food in their eyes. Real nasty creatures they were, for sure. How Ash had managed to find such a mellow and… well, vegetarian specimen, I didn't know. But it was easy to chalk it up to protagonist luck and charisma and leave it at that.

Would I meet one someday? Probably. They were incredibly powerful pokemon, and I would no doubt try and find myself one to clash against at one point. That would have to wait until we got some more serious firepower on our side, though.

We had managed to knock out one of every predator species in the forest as far as I knew, but I could understand if someone tried to undermine that by saying we had cheated, used cowardly behavior and underhanded tactics. I was more inclined to call it common sense and good survival instincts, but I might be wrong? I don't know, but I've always been partial to the 'Why fight when I can just win' mentality.

And that particular motto had been quite useful over these past few months. Like with the Rockets, and the ursaring last week, and the gang of poliwhirl that followed, and the beedrill swarm, and the scyther we had met the other day. And more recently of course, the nest of ekans and arbok. Yeah, we had put together a damn impressive resume.

That scyther was especially dirty as far as killing methods went. Bel, with his much heightened speed and agility had been clashing against the giant mantis doped up on actual Agility until the proverbial light-bulb lit up in my head and I asked Eole to catch its head telekinetically when he stopped and to keep it in place.

The opportunity came once he abruptly stopped to screech at Sedna who was pestering him with Water Guns. You could probably guess where this was going. Even though its aura naturally clashed against psychic attacks, it didn't stop a gruesome crack to echo against the trees. Insects had generally tough exoskeletons, but their insides were an entirely different matter.

What had shaken me the most out of the whole ordeal wasn't the sight of the broken and dead scyther however, but rather the cheers that my cute little genins let out at its demise. I still wasn't sure what to think of that. It was easy to see them as kids when they acted so cute and childish usually. I was certain that it was definitely my fault though, there was no doubt about that.

Speaking of cute and scary, my hand drifted down to touch the freshly used pokeball looped to my belt.

…

That pause was a little courtesy I got used to give to whoever had sent me here, just in case they needed to cut and edit in the flashback scene from earlier.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yea-

* * *

_Fifteen hours ago_

"OK I spazz, I curse. You're last, I'm first. I'm on your ass like dirt. Behind that cash get murk. Na-na-na-na na-na…

"And I don't remember the rest, sorry guys." I wryly admitted, much to the disappointment of Eole and Bel. The latter seemed to share his anime counterpart's distaste for pokeballs as he hadn't gotten back in it since his evolution.

Still, I was in a hell of a good mood and that usually prompted me to sing. I had regaled them with as music as I could remember from my world. At this point, I've been through a lot of my playlist – Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, MJ, Biggie, even some Sinatra the other day.

Today, I could feel cockiness pour out of my every pores in waves, so I opted for a bit of Lil Wayne as I strutted around the forest like I owned the goddamn place. And I kind of deserved it, to be fair. Everything seemed to go my way, these days.

The only thing I wouldn't say no to would be a bar or two of signal. At least enough to check on my inbox and maybe make sure of my exact position via the GPS app.

I thought I had recognized a few footprints earlier heading north, but I immediately wandered west after seeing them. I still needed to beat up an arbok before I could properly say I had conquered this part of Kanto.

As I randomly picked the pokedex out of my belt, I looked at the top corner to know the hour and was surprised to see I was getting a bar of signal. Opening the messaging app proved to be futile as the dex froze and I had to restart the damn thing. Fuck, hopefully I'd get a PokeNav soon because this was unbearable.

Fortunately this time, the signal didn't waver and I managed to exchange a few messages with all of my contacts for the first time in two weeks. It didn't take too much time since there were only three – Lena, Will and Samuel. It may have felt good to reconnect even as little as this, but it only served to highlight my visceral need for human interaction.

I waited for a few minutes to be sure none of them would respond back. None of them did, so I debated on whether I would risk searching for a stronger signal so I could open the GPS app.

Obviously, I went for broke and let myself get lost between the tre- "Stop right there!"

Bel stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

I stared back, and patted the left pocket of my backpack. It was open.

He picked his nose.

Eole snickered on the sidelines.

I kept my eyes trained on Bel.

"Don't you da-"

"Pika." He gobbled down the candy.

"Nooooo!" I wailed, fists striking the ground. "Fuck you! That was my last one, you fucking douchebag!"

Tears prickled at the corner of my eyes before righteous anger took over and I shot a betrayed look at Eole. "You! He couldn't have done it without your help. What did he promise you?!"

He schooled his expression and shrugged as if to say 'nothing personal'. That made me swivel back to Bel. He was plopped down on a low-hanging bough and looking at me disinterestedly. Then, he patted his stomach contentedly and burped.

I saw red.

"That's! It!" I lunged at him, startling him enough that I managed to grab his tail as he tried to escape. The cheer I let out was instantly drowned by a faint shock that made my grip waver and let him slip away.

Thus followed a historic chase, the like of which the inhabitants of the forest would tell to their descendants for generations.

It ended rather anticlimactically, though. We decided to put an end to it as we reached the side of a little stream that Sedna would probably appreciate. I released her and we ate out of our provisions. I had kind of got used to wild game these days, so it felt good to indulge in some canned beans and jerky for once.

After browsing a few pokedex pages, I chose to make camp even though it was only around noon and ran us all through a few basic drills.

The rest of the afternoon passed normally until rays of sunlight peeked from the low treeline to the east. I grew curious and outfitted myself with my bow and my Sedna under my arm before looking at Bel and Eole. "I want to check out over there, you two in?"

They shared a look for a moment, rolled their eyes at the same time and deadpanned back at me. Sedna wriggled in my grip wordlessly.

I snorted, adjusted the sling of my bow and marched over to what I suspected was a meadow. My hunch proved to be correct as we breached the treeline and came upon a- well, a meadow.

It was littered with wildflowers and grasses. Daisies, echinaceas, butterfly weed. I had grown used to these sights back in Pallet, but this place seemed to have an added… ethereal? Yeah, ethereal quality to it. I half expected Tinker Bell or something like that to come out and ask for my help.

Shaking myself off of a slight awed state, I roused my team from their own and climbed a small hill to get a better look at the place. It was a total one-eighty from what the forest had accustomed us to with trees upon trees upon trees with a few ponds and streams in between.

From our vantage point, I could see further north another pond that seemed to feed off of the stream near our camp. Neat, should I relocate? I could see us making camp here and branch off everyday to look for an arbok. The meadow seemed to be about an acre big, that would let us diversify our training too.

My musings were suddenly cut off by Bel crying out in pain while clutching his nose. The putrid stench hit me as well a second after, same for Eole. Sedna didn't seem fazed at all.

I tucked my nose in the collar of my shirt and grabbed Eole and Bel before rushing downhill. I tentatively sniffed the air before finally taking a deep breath, which prompted my most sensitive teammates to do so as well.

"Damn, that was… _nasty_." We all shuddered at that, except Sedna who looked extremely confused and somewhat miffed at being left out so.

Wordlessly, I threw a look around and another down at my shirt. It was tattered, and I'd probably have to throw it soon. I must have looked bonkers as I cut rags off of my shirt. Me running around collecting flowers and grasses couldn't have righted their image of me either.

"I said I wanted to check out this place, that's what I will do." My hands were fast at work, stuffing the four pieces of fabric and wild lavender, mint and garlic grass together with a length of rope.

Ignoring their indignant expressions, I hastened the masks to their faces. They looked more like bouquets garnis than actual masks, but style wasn't an issue when nobody was there to see you.

"Now, who's coming with me?" I asked with a big, expectant smile.

They shared another look and let out a collective sigh.

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I'm going ahead to make sure these things are of any use."

Once at the top of the hill, I gestured for them to stop as I breathed for a few seconds. It was still nose-scrunching stinky, but it became bearable at least. Bel did pull a long face after following, but he didn't voice his complain.

The breeze seemed to have come from the west, with two hills blocking direct sight. I kept my eyes trained on the thin grass under our feet to make sure the direction of the wind wouldn't change.

"Be on your guard guys. I've got a bad feeling about this."

With my eyes fixed a few meters in front of my feet, I walked ahead, taking point, and hoping my peripheral vision would alert me of anything hiding in the tall grass.

About fifteen meters away from the trench between the two hillocks, my eyes snapped to the right where grass seemed to sway. I notched an arrow and loosed it. The sharp twang and the pained hiss that followed made the others jump and tense up, an attack at the ready.

It proved to be the right thing to do as a meter-long purple snake rushed at us, its slithering now audibly rustling the grass. Sedna zeroed in on the ekans and launched a violently wide Water Gun at it, opting for blunt force when she couldn't pinpoint its exact location.

It gave me enough time to notch and loose another arrow, this time piercing its head instead of the bloody nick on its tail earlier.

"Good job, Sedna." I leveled my breathing and resolutely stared at the flailing snake until I felt the now familiar cackling of aura under my skin. I knew what I was dealing with at last, and it was exactly what I wanted.

"Sedna. We'll need mist. As cold you can make it. Just keep it in for now, though. Don't release it." These guys don't like cold and until I knew how much of them we had on our hands, we'd want to weaken as much as possible. I wasn't sure if it would make us stand out even more to them, what with us being the hot studs and lady we were.

I snorted at that. She complied after sending a skeptical look my way, her eyes sharpening as she appeared to hold her breath in.

The first arrow had broken on the thing's scales earlier, so I could only retrieve the second, which was coated in viscous dark liquid. I shrugged and grabbed Sedna under my arm. I readjusted her mask that had fallen off from the attack and gestured for the others to follow before hiking up the over-tall mound of dirt.

Upon reaching the top, the fetor from earlier hit me twice as strong even through the layers of herbs. I heard Bel gag on air behind me and I shuddered. It reeked of decay, rot and musk. Yeah there was an arbok somewhere.

From my new vantage point, I could see a vast pasture surrounded by thick trees and foliage. What caught my eye however, was a commotion to the right, where slithering purple seemed to crowd over writhing white and light green. I grabbed my binoculars to inspect whatever was happening.

There were around a dozen, maybe more ekans stuck in a fight with thirty or so… Are those cottonee? Yes, and the grass-types were losing, badly. A giant arbok was currently belching what looked like sludge on a small mound of-

Bile immediately rose up my throat, and I only barely contained the retching that came after.

My stomach lurched upon catching sight of the mass of sludge which was revealed to be an actual pile of dead cottonee, their woolly hide now soaked and bubbling with purple acid. I tried to avert my eyes, but instead spied a pocket of the fight that had branched off to the side.

Five ekans were surrounding a lone cottonee. The cloud-like pokemon was brutal in its frenzy, slamming recklessly into a snake like a battering ram before bouncing into another one, the dark glow cladding him growing dimmer with each hit. I recognized it as Beat Up, a dark type move that increased the user's strength proportionally to the number of allies by his side.

A number that was dwindling by the second. I shook my head and thought it over for a moment. Did I really need to get involved? No, as much as it pained me to say it, this was the natural order of life. Poison types preyed on grass and fairy types, and cottonee were double that. Now, did I _want_ to make an entrance?

Hell yeah. I'm trying to be a protagonist over here. "Sedna, I want you to go with Eole over to that mound," I ordered, pointing to a slightly elevated section of the plain. "You'll let the mist out and take out those ekans. Try not to let that big arbok see you until we regroup." A pincer tactic seemed to be the way to go, as the only true threat that was the arbok was the farthest away from us. We would have the opportunity to take out as much of the minions as we could.

"You two have to stick to long range attack only. Especially you, Eole. You'll get really hurt if you're bitten by those things. Now go and be careful."

They nodded purposefully and went to their assigned position. I turned to the pikachu at my side. "Bel. You can't use Magnet Rise since the terrain is so uneven. But do go nuts with the Thundershock as long as you leave enough in the tank for two Thunderbolt. We'll need em later. You haven't got Iron Tail down yet either, so don't take any risks."

He was warily staring ahead while I was talking, then nodded dejectedly at the end, slightly disappointed. He really liked Magnet Rise.

Fog was beginning to roll over the clearing and I was struck with second thoughts. Snakes didn't need their sight to know where we were, but we did. Was it really the good decision to trade that for the enemy being a tad sluggish in its movement? Maybe. No, it was actually a good thing. My pokemon's statures were small by default and they wouldn't be affected as much as I would. My height was what let me catch the earlier ekans' silent advance.

"Bel, change of plan." His ears flickered. "I won't be of much use with you three, so I'll stay here and snipe them with this." I pointed to my now fully extended bow."

"Pi." He acquiesced and dashed down the hill and into the fray without preamble.

The mist was now enveloping the whole area of the slaughter. There were only half a dozen cottonee left standing by now. The special one had now doubled in volume, compensating its earlier Beat Up state with a sheer mass of cotton that stuck to the ekans' skin whenever it crashed into them, slowing their movement down.

Goddamn. What a beast.

I had to make each of the thirteen remaining cartridges count, and it would be that much harder with the distance and the fact that these were moving targets, but I didn't think it would be a waste to help the cottonee.

A first arrow missed the ekans furthest from the cottonee by a whole foot. I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath before resetting my stance. The second one pined the snake most recently tackled straight through its middle, with a third one finishing it.

I debated using a fourth until I realized I had already notched it and had the first ekans lined up. I waited for the cottonee to bounce on it before loosing the arrow, which impaled it through the head.

A short distance from there, Bel was darting around a group of five coiled up ekans, keeping them in place. I took the invitation for what it was, taking two of them out and pinning another using five arrows, leaving Bel to dispatch the remaining two. Only five cartridges left, Eole and Sedna would need to come in clutch as I visibly wasn't in form today.

Since they were at the epicenter of the fog, I had no idea where they were exactly, but Sedna's voice didn't seem strained as it reached me. And Eole didn't send me any alerting emotion through his empathic powers, so I could tentatively say they were alright for now.

A final inspection of the battlefield before I walked into the fray left me reeling at the fact that the only cottonee left standing was the special one, who still was throwing itself at three ekans, purple liquid oozing from its previously immaculate fur(?).

"Bel!" I called as I rushed past him. He was just done shocking the last ekans. "Come with!"

His ears flickered in annoyance, but he complied without preamble. Being faster than me, he arrived to the cottonee's side before I did and rushed one of the ekans with a shimmering and hardened tail.

I clicked my tongue at his failed attempt, as the ekans easily recovered from what was basically a Tail Whip and retaliated with a lunging Bite. Bel panicked and let loose quite a lot of volts.

Passing him by once again, I crouched to lift a heavy stone and rushed at one of the two remaining ekans. The cottonee flinched and reeled back at my imposing form and I took the chance the chance to trap the distracted snake under the weighty rock.

Playing it safe, I chose to lose another arrow instead of reaching for my knife, still achieving the desired effect of piercing its brain.

Bel rushed between my legs and lunged at the last ekans, with an Iron Tail at the ready. This time however, the sound of boned breaking against metal was undisputed.

Finally getting a good look at the most interesting being I had seen in this forest, our eyes met. There was undeniable defiance in those glowing pools of bright orange, offering the sharpest contrast to its grimy appearance. I could see an infinite well of grit and determination in those orbs, as well as the adrenaline beginning to wear off. I needed it for a bit longer though.

"The arbok is still out there," I said. "If you really want revenge, you can help us take it down."

Without another word, I turned on my heels and signed for Bel to follow before running to the misty area. The fog was beginning to dissipate, the added visibility allowing me to see the aftermath of the fight – corpses of cottonee and ekans littered the clearing. I ignored them and focused on keeping my steps away from any acid puddle or rotting carcass while looking for Eole and Sedna.

I followed the trail of mud puddles and convulsing ekans until I found them. Eole's purple aura was more potent than I had ever seen it, it was connected to the arbok, rooting it in place as Sedna incessantly doused it with alternated scalding and normal water. Her Scald only sustainable for a few seconds before she needed to pause and cool herself down.

"Bel! Thunderbolt!" I cried hastily, covering my face with a forearm and facing away.

"Pi-ka- Chuuu!"

I quickly looked around after blinking the spots from my eyes.

… This wasn't what I expected.

The arbok was left sizzling and knocked out. Eole certainly looked tired, but not- well, exhausted? Sedna seemed relatively fresh and Bel was panting, but he always was after a Thunderbolt. Hell, he probably still had another one of those left in him. I didn't exert myself too much either. It felt awkward, to be perfectly honest.

"Hehe, uh…" I lamely laughed, plopping down on an acid-free spot of grass. "Looks like we've outgrown this place, guys."

A bump on my shoulder kept me from seeing my team's reaction as I looked to the side and met the cottonee's eyes once again. It peered at me with those bright eyes, searching for something the same way I did earlier.

I broke off the stare first as I inspected its curious floating body, all gashes, cuts, and bruises. I scrunched my eyes shut imagining how much pain the cottonee was in before I fished a pink pokeball from my inside my jacket.

Enlarging it, I presented it to the grass-type. "You're really badly poisoned. I'd like to bring you to a healer that could cure you. But you'd need to get inside of this think. I suppose you already know what it does?"

It nodded docilely and floated over to click on the middle button.

* * *

It still hadn't been released yet after its capture. I think I was afraid of it refusing my offer to join us. In any case, only a day's walk separated me from Pewter's PokeCenter, if I set out at dawn.

I fished out the pokedex and checked the hour – 22:07. The Heal-ball felt heavy in my hands.

"Can any of you pull off an all-nighter, guys?"

* * *

**A/N: Wassup^^ Thanks for t=sticking around till the end. Next chapter shouldn't be out before long.**

**Uploaded on : 27/03/2020**


	8. Ipseity

**A/****N: ****Bit of a surge of followers after last chapte****r. Not sure why, but I'm ****sure as hell ****glad for it^^. ****Hopefully I won't disappoint y'all with any more slow updates. **

**If you've forgotten about the team members, I'll start recapitulating their species, names and a rough estimation of their in-game levels at the end of every chapter starting from this one.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 :** Ipseity

* * *

"_You __have a Ferrari and I have a __Fiat.__If I __ever wish__ to__ beat you in a race I'll have to break your wheel__s__ or put sugar in your tank. __There's no other way.__Can __you__ even get mad at me for it?__" _\- At this point, I'm just putting whatever in here.

* * *

"- and I think that's about it. I got here at around noon and collapsed in my room until now. I thought about waiting to call you in the morning but figured you'd still be up anyway."

Samuel's image flickered in the screen as he nodded. I waited a few moments for his eyes to lose their glazed quality before he realized I was done with the narration of my exploits. I should stop talking so much about myself, no one likes a self-absorbed moron.

"Well, Ash, color me impressed," he began with a proud smile on his face. "It always warms my heart to see you thriving in the wilderness as you do. I had my reservations as to your ability to go through with your plans, but I find myself more and more convinced every time I hear from you."

Blood rushed to my face. "I- Um. Thanks Sam, it means a lot coming from you."

He nodded, grinning proudly. "You deserve that and even more, my boy. Now, why don't you tell me more about your new catch? I find it most curious that a cottonee herd could have ended up here of all places."

I perked up at that and threw him a reproachful look. "Yeah, about that. I tried looking for cottonee's entry in the pokedex, but it seems you've been hoarding the good stuff for yourself, Sam. I could have used that National update, you know?"

"What might you be suggesting, you entitled little brat? As a simple Professor to you, my position doesn't allow me any leeway for favoring any of my charges."

I sneered indignantly. "Choose your next words very carefully, old man. One might suspect that you're accusing me of engaging in nepotism."

We fixed each other with scathing looks for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Cheeky little-" Samuel wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Just stick your pokedex in the slot to your left and stop playing around!"

"Aye aye Cap'n." I did as instructed, watching curiously as a green light lit up in both the pokedex and the monitor.

"You asked about the cottonee right?" I asked rhetorically, getting back on track. "I mean, I'm no psychic and it still is under care right now. I might have more to tell you once Miss Joy calls for me."

He nodded in understanding before smirking evilly. "Speaking of Miss…" For fuck's sake, I knew it was coming. "Another fairy type? Should I be worried for Gary's chastity? You two _w__ere_ awfully close a few years back."

Those jokes were the only thing that got him a rise out of me back in Pallet. I played this one off with a shrug. "What can I say? Ladies love a man in tune with his feminine side. Not that you would know anything about that, what with your junk growing cobwebs by the daily."

"So you finally admit your team wouldn't look out of place in Daisy's hands, huh?" He grinned triumphantly.

Damn, he was in this for the win. I'd have to take the big guns out as well.

"What's this I hear about dubious girly tendencies?" Oh come on… When it rains, it pours. I really am an anime protagonist, it couldn't be a coincidence at this point.

I schooled my expression and swiveled on my chair with an amiable smile. "What's up Willy? Long time no infuriate. Tell me, how has the blood pressure been?"

"Eh…" He shrugged and flicked at a lock of hair. "You know, protecting the innocent, getting laid every day of the week and twice on Saturdays. Routine for a man with my dashingly good looks." Then he caught sight of who was on the monitor and promptly froze.

Smelling blood, I pounced. "Samuel, may I introduce you William Meyers, a rather average trainer I've met in my travels. You can fire at Will, he's got thick skin."

The old man ignored my clever play of words in favor of scrutinizing the ranger with a wary look. "Yes, we already are… acquainted," he ended up saying tersely.

Taking my fill of the usually cocky trainer lamely shuffling his feet, I rolled my eyes. "Relax Sam. He's cool. I already know he's sent by the League."

He looked taken aback by that, his eyes widening. Will was still standing awkwardly to the side.

"You already know they're monitoring you?" He asked carefully.

A hand came up to scratch at my now clean shaven jaw. "I mean, yeah. I would be keeping an eye on me too if I was in their shoes."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Nah, not really. I guess I was pretty miffed when they came to interrogate me back when I was still bedridden, but I can understand in retrospect." I lied with as genuine a smile as I could craft.

I had omitted mentioning the Hypnosis part to Sam since I thought it would strain his relations with the League. That mess was my problem and mine only and I wouldn't die before ruining the lives of everyone involved in it. It would be on sight the next time I would meet Blaine, and though I'd have to wait a bit longer for Lance, his turn would come soon enough as well.

Samuel leaned back in his chair and took off his glasses to wipe them clean, throwing me an unreadable look. "Very well. I suppose you _a__re_ legally an adult, Ash. I can see there's still something else you're not telling me, however."

I met his stare for a time before inclining my head. "There is."

He waited for me to continue, and sighed when it became evident I wouldn't say more. "Alright." He drummed his fingers on his desk in silent contemplation before looking at me again. "Are you confident you can deal with this by yourself?"

"No," I admitted truthfully. "Not before a few years at least."

Samuel peered at me for a long moment before opening his mouth. He was interrupted by the device in my pocket giving off a shrill beeping alarm. I shut it off and gave a tight smile to Sam and Will before excitedly making my way to the counter.

Once the Nurse caught sight of me, she curtly nodded towards the plastic tray on the counter and retreated to the back. I shrugged and signed the receipt before awkwardly attempting to carry the pokeballs in the crook of my elbow. It felt weird not wearing my clip belt, but I would have to make do.

Returning to the monitor stand, I took a few seconds to skim over the medical report. My team was perfectly healthy, if maybe a bit worn-out. As expected, the cottonee had come in very badly poisoned and extremely fatigued. Nothing you couldn't tell at a glance, but having professional confirmation always helped.

Reaching the comm corner, I paused and once again enjoyed the sight of Will squirming under Samuel's intense stare before I shook my head, amused, and caught their attention back with a cough. I pressed release on all of the pokeballs except for the Heal-ball, that I masked from them with a hand. Wouldn't want to give them even more ammunition.

Eole and Sedna greeted me enthusiastically with a trill and a grunt respectively, and Bel gave me a disinterested yawn before zipping off to examine the hall.

I stared bemusedly after him and turned back to Sam, finding him looking quizzically at the pikachu. "Something wrong with him?"

He shook his head. "No, it just felt like he should be acting differently is all. Don't worry, though." He added at my raised eyebrow. "He seems perfectly healthy at a glance, as I'm certain the lovely nurse already relayed to you. Now, could you bring dear Sedna near the screen? I'd like to give her a cursory inspection."

I complied and brought Sedna near the camera, asking her to open her mouth for a moment. Bored after a mere few seconds, I left her to float on her own and looked back at Will to find him scrutinizing a straight-faced Eole, their eyes alternatively glowing blue and purple.

The two were done first, with Will shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what you've been feeding him, Ash. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd have thought the little guy was a psychic type."

"What do you mean?"

"It means," he said, meeting my eyes with a somewhat impressed look, "that he's got psychic abilities on par with a newly evolved kadabra. I don't know what to say, you've done outstanding work training him."

"You're… you really mean that. You're not even trying to claim credit for having Gemini train him?" I asked, skeptical.

Will shook his head. "Those were just a few basics. I thought I'd just throw you all a bone and teach him Extrasensory for the hell of it at the time. I was already surprised with the telekinesis back in Viridian, but it was just very well placed pulls and pushes. What he showed me with the arbok was truly exceptional."

My hands bristled violently. "Eole, did you let him inside your head willingly?"

He tilted his head in confusion as if to say 'why, did I do wrong?'.

The wind left my sails and I deflated. "No." I gave him an apologetic smile. "No, buddy. I'm sorry. These are as much your memories as they are mine. You can do whatever you want with them."

He trilled happily and I scooped him up in my arms, now facing Will with a guarded face. I shouldn't take it so personally when he did ask for Eole's permission, but I couldn't help my disdain for the practice.

The tension already present scaled up a notch after that until Sam regained my attention. "Everything seems to be in order. I can understand why Jeb seemed so taken with her. You've got here a particularly healthy specimen of a feebas. And from what I remember seeing of your gym battle, an exceptionally strong one as well. You have a knack for training, my boy, that's for sure."

I smiled impishly at the flow of praise and lifted the report in my hands. "Nurse Joy doesn't seem to disagree. Now that I have you online though, could I trouble you for a few tips about the cottonee?"

He hummed in thought and leaned back in his chair. "I wouldn't call myself an expert on Unovan species by any stretch, so you're on your own. I could ask around if you'd like, but you would have to wait around Pewter for a few days."

"I would really appreciate that, Samuel, thank you. And taking some time off does sound like a grand idea right about now."

He waved it off. "Don't mention it. Though I find myself curious to see how you intend to introduce yourself to your new friend. Would it be a bother at all for you to do it with an audience?"

My first instinct was to immediately refuse, but I held my tongue, contemplated the request and ultimately shrugged in acceptance, already readying for Will's inevitable jabs.

The cottonee appeared in a flash of light, floating in a light bobbing motion and blinking in innocent confusion at his new environment before it caught sight of me. It made a beeline for me and wordlessly bounced on my chest in what I imagined was a show of affection.

I took the greeting for what it was and patted its head, appreciating the feel of its cottony fur(?). "Hello," I began softly. "Um, it's already been a day since I've caught you inside this thing." I lifted the Heal-ball for it to see, keeping it covered from the others.

"Do you know what these things do?" I asked.

It bobbed up and down with a bit more force.

"That's cool. Now, I hope you understand that I only caught you in it to bring you as fast as possible to a healer. And as you can see, I've kept my promise."

The fluffy pokemon floated forward once again and nuzzled my chest for a few seconds, which I allowed with a smile before I pushed it away so our eyes could meet.

"I'm not sure if you're going to be offended by what I'll say, but you don't really have anywhere else to go right now. Since, well… you were there too, I don't need to remind you of what happened. But you could have a place in my team if you'd like?"

As if it had been rehearsed, Bel and Eole jumped on my shoulders and Sedna popped her face out of between my arm and my side. I imagined it was really picturesque and I lost myself in the theatricality of the moment, reaching out with a hand. "What do you say?"

It didn't even hesitate for a second before it threw itself at my chest, much more forcefully than previously.

I lamely patted its midsection(?) with a hand and reread the report. "Uh, say Sam? You got any idea how to tell… well, you know? Actually, hold on." I lightly tapped the cottonee's head to catch its attention. "Hey, you a girl or-"

It was then that she showed the first emotion I could decipher, for there could no longer be any doubt about her gender after she thunderously huffed and sent me on my ass with a Tackle.

* * *

I patted the dust out of my last presentable pair of pants and stood up from the ground, breathing out what felt like the thousandth sigh of the day –

"Bwahaha!"

– and obviously, that fucking bum leeching bread and circus off of me didn't make things any better. It has already been a week since I arrived in Pewter and I was convinced at this point that Will was actually unemployed with all the time he spent hanging around.

I focused on my last thread of poise and patience to ignore the rambunctious laughter of Bel and Will as I once again approached the cottonee, who had for the last few days proved to be the most legitimate threat to my continuous good health since that ursaring.

"You did great out there Saga. Good work." I began with a strained smile. "Though I'd appreciate if you could stop bowling me over so much, please?"

The newly named Saga tilted her head in confusion before nodding. Sadly, she had done just that before tackling me the previous times as well.

I shook my head, resigned to welcoming a few hit-taking drills into my training regiment and went to inspect the battered wild jigglypuff. Its previously pale pink skin was lathered with violently purple liquid and spores. A by-product of Saga's Poison Powder, which was much more potent than I imagined it could be, coming from a fairy-type. I would look it up later, but I was fairly sure it would only affirm the bizarreness of the situation.

Making sure to leave a pecha and oran berry near the wild pokemon, I called for Sedna to wash off the jigglypuff and began to pack up my camp of the last four days. I had gotten kicked out of the PokeCenter after the first three days and chose to rough it out and get used to my new teammate for a few more days north of Pewter until my scheduled Gym Battle, tomorrow.

I threw a look back at Saga, who was currently getting patched up by Eole. She was a weird one, for sure. She didn't listen to anything I would say during the fights, choosing instead to repeatedly smash into her foes in a fit of rage I wouldn't have expected from a cottonee of all things, but I couldn't really fault her when she was still unbeaten after five days and around three dozen battles against the wild pokemon of Route 3.

Her berserking style kind of ruined my idea of the main role a grass type usually fills, that of a status inducer. Still, not all hope was lost on the first point either, since she had taken to integrate the poison inducing move at my behest for the latest few fights. I would continue to get on her case until she eventually learned to act the part of a Crowd Controller, but I would let her do whatever she wanted as long as she pulled her weight for now.

A few days back when I had gotten my grubby hands on the National Dex update, I ended up reading her the moves her species could learn aloud, and she nodded at those she knew. As of now, her arsenal consisted of the usual for her species up to Poison Powder, which led me to the conclusion that she was around Eole's level, himself only a few levels bellow Sedna and Bel. Though the disparity in _actual_ battle experience was more than noticeable. If I had to liken them to the Games back home, I would say they were around level 20, and the others around 25.

I was also surprised to learn that she knew Memento on top of Beat Up. She could have been sired by a Dark-type parent, I supposed, but that still wouldn't explain her affinity for poison. Could a skuntank possibly get it on with a whimsicott? I would have to do some research.

Either way, after ultimately discarding what I deemed useless out of her movepool, I decided to focus on Mega-drain, her spore moves and Fairy Wind. I was still undecided on Growth, but Memento and Beat Up were hard passes. The former because it simply didn't sit well with me to use it, and the latter because I didn't want her to spread herself too thin. There was also the matter of conflicting types of aura, but that was rather obvious.

There was no such thing as being overspecialized in my opinion. Following the same train of thought, versatility was horribly overrated and frankly useless. If she ever intended to live up to her namesake, Saga would have to play to her strengths and use them to cover her weaknesses. Creativity and craftiness would come with time and would broaden her horizons, but for now, we had a plan to stick to.

I had originally intended to include Razor Leaf as well, but she hadn't really given it her all when I asked her to demonstrate. And it would be overtaken by later learned moves anyway, so I decided to roll with it.

Mega-Drain, its later evolution and the Spores were pretty self-explanatory, being staples for every grass type, and she seemed proficient enough with them. Fairy Wind however was as much for her to get accustomed to her fairy typing and long term training, as it was a way to slowly ease Eole into his own.

My hope was that she could teach him to harness his fairy-typing earlier than expected – in other words, before his evolution, which was still taking its sweet-ass time to arrive.

With me having originally opted to be lax with my guidance of his choices, he had taken the nasty habit of overusing Rock Smash or Thunder Wave. The hands-off approach to training had its benefits, seeing how Bel had gotten the hang of Magnet Rise without any help on my part, and Eole and Sedna's proficiency with psychic and water techniques spoke volume on their own.

I could see just as much drawbacks, however. First of them being the… tainting? No, that would be too extreme. Rather the _dilution_ of their natural typing. Eole had been plateauing with his healing abilities for a couple weeks or so. Though I just had to admit that his physical conditioning was pretty decent for his age, and would have probably been lacking without Rock Smash and–

Argh! This shit was so confusing. I had no idea if concepts so extreme were appropriate at all for training! Gym Leaders and Elites seemed to be doing something right with their commitment to a single type.

But that was the thing, they only ever have to focus on a single type. Maybe I was biting off more than I could chew? I had a responsibility towards my team to make them grow at least as powerful as they could be. What if I was damaging their growths with my rejection of versatility?

Fuck!

…

Okay…

It was a good thing that I was self-critical enough to recognize a potential flaw in my methods before it could slap me in the face. It could have been by losing a battle and it being only my pride taking a hit, or it could have been in so much worse a situation. Either way, I still had time to figure this out. Hell, I was pretty sure I could take on the next gym on the third level and still win convincingly.

I had my doubts as to whether I could keep my temporary lead on other trainers of my level for much longer, but maybe that wasn't necessarily a bad thing? I was growing weary of these long patches of bumming it out in the woods anyway. Papa needed some of that sweet battle gambling money.

Yup, as much as those months in the wilderness didn't feel like anything but a vacation to my Earthling self, they seemed to have taken their toll on me still. It was high time I took a breather.

After my Gym battle against Brock tomorrow, I would have to check out those fliers in the PokeCenter's lobby. Zip-lining sounded like grand stuff right about now. Or maybe a trip to the library was in order? Pewter did have a pretty renown one attached to its museum.

* * *

Once again, I found myself sitting on the hard-plastic seat of a Gym's waiting room. This time though, there didn't seem to be all that much of a crowd in attendance, or maybe the walls' soundproofing was of better quality. I couldn't know for sure.

Even though it was only two in the afternoon, mine was supposed to be the last scheduled battle of the day. Whether that was a good thing or not, I wouldn't know, but I could certainly confirm the fat load of good it did for my nerves. No sarcasm, I actually felt pretty relaxed.

Without going as far as to claim I had plans for every Rock type in existence, I could confidently say that I could take on everything Brock had to throw at me _right now_. It wasn't like he could pit a tyranitar at a second-tier battle now, could he?

I felt a faint breeze brush my skin just before my nose picked up on a scent of nutmeg and toasted flour. Getting up, I went to meet whoever had just entered the corridor.

Having expected a Gym trainer or the referee, I was surprised to be met with a tall, dark skinned man hurriedly stuffing an apron into his pocket. My brain took a minute to process what I was seeing and realize this was _the_ Brock and that he was most probably back from lunch with his family.

A chortle escaped me and caught his attention. "Chicken Alfredo?" I asked, tapping the side of my nose with a finger.

Looking taken aback at first, Brock laughed good-naturedly. "That's a good nose you've got on you, friend! How'd you guess?"

I chimed in with a snort of my own. "I guess I've clocked in my fair share of hours at the stove too. If I may add, you've got great timing for browning the roux, it smells heavenly."

"Why, thank you. You learn a thing or two over the years." He stepped forward and offered me handshake, which left me reeling at the calluses and burns I could feel. What the hell was up with these people's hands? Would I be cursed to a life of uncomfortable jacking off as well? "I'm Brock Harrison, Pewter City's Gym Leader. And you must be Ash Ketchum, right?"

"That's me all right." I still hadn't gotten used to hear 'my' full name.

"Very well. I'm afraid the rest of the staff had already been given leave for the day before I realized there still was a battle scheduled. Would it bother you if I were to handle the refereeing?"

I tried very hard not to freeze at that. "Oh? That's weird, how would it come to this?"

He scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Uh, about that… Let's just say it's easy to make me fold when people ask me a favor. I didn't want to ruin anyone's day off."

My whole being relaxed at that as I smirked teasingly at the spiky haired man. "How hot is she?" I wouldn't judge him, the receptionist from earlier was pretty damn peng.

Brock's naturally narrowed eyes scrunched further as his face got a shade darker. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Let's just get on with the battle, alright?"

I shrugged and leisurely followed his now hurried footsteps, satisfied with one-upping him for the moment.

"You're here for a second tier battle, right?" Brock asked while browsing over a heavy looking electronic tablet.

"That's right."

After a few more seconds, he looked back up at me. "Alright. You're all set. Is there anything you'd like me to clarify about the rules? No objection about my ability to order you to call your pokemon back twice after a knock out at any point during the battle?"

"I got you, don't worry." I said distractedly, my eyes roaming over the stands trying to recognize any of the dozen or so people in attendance. Nope, nobody. But there was a guy in sunglasses that seemed to scrutinize me a bit too intensely for him to be a simple passerby. I still had to watch my back, apparently. How did that even work? Weren't those types supposed to be a bit less… conspicuous?

Climbing the few steps to my elevated platform, I shook my head and placed my pokeballs into their slots on the panel. Maybe I should have thought about the releasing device more in depth back in Viridian, but I was too overwhelmed by the crowd to properly register everything at the time. It wasn't like I didn't read the rule-book beforehand anyway, seeing how I took advantage of the fifteen seconds between each warning by stalling for Sedna to douse the rhyhorn.

Still, as disheartening as it was to realize I would never be able to scream 'I choose you!' and pitch a pokeball at the start of every battle, I had to admit it kind of made sense. Without that particular rule, referees and Leaders wouldn't have any way of enforcing their calls, after all.

I was shaken out of my thoughts by Brock's voice booming out of the speakers at my feet. "Challenger, call out your first pokemon."

Four green buttons and three red ones flashed repeatedly on the panel above the pokeball slots, telling me I could use my full team against Brock's three. The lights shut off when I slotted in the pokeballs I'd use and pressed the one on the far left, revealing a three seconds countdown to the start of the match.

An NBA-like buzzer echoed around and two opposing lights coalesced into the field, leaving a cottonee and an aron facing each other.

"Begin!"

"Saga! Cotton Guard!"

"Rock Tomb!"

The little steel type barked and stomped his two front feet down, making the ground under Saga shake before a football sized rock flew up and crashed inside her now thick woolly exterior, minimizing the damage.

"Stun Spore and go wild draining it." I calmly said, already satisfied with the fact that she didn't blindly rush into the fray like she usually did.

The fiery cottonee cooed a battle-cry as she tanked another rock into her fur(?), which had tripled in size and was rapidly gaining an orange hue. If it were a fire type we were facing, that combo would have been a hard pass, but as the next few minutes proved, she could handle herself quite well against anything else.

The first few hits didn't do all that much damage, since the previously mentioned outer layer of cotton basically had the consistency of a moss bat. It was still mixed with paralyzing spores that stuck to the aron's body after contact, however. And the effect of those were certainly noticeable.

Not that the gradually berserking Saga realized any of that. To be honest, I couldn't even tell if she understood what the Spore or the Mega-Drain she was cloaked in were used for.

It was always morbidly fascinating to see her cut loose, like replaying a car crash video or a boxing punch in slow-mo. Actually, the first one wasn't that bad an analogy. Saga certainly had the crashing part down to an art form, as well as leaving the victim paralyz- nah that one was too dark, even for me.

To his credit, Brock recalled his pokemon after realizing even the aron's Metal Claw did little more than chip away at Saga's fur. "Recall your pokemon," he said neutrally.

"Saga, Pop. And thank you for your help, you were amazing."

With another coo, my cottonee violently shed her outer layer out, scattering the volatile spores all over the other side of the field with a gust of wind before getting recalled and replaced with my next pokemon. That trick she pulled could have gotten me a first warning depending on the referee. I wouldn't even be mad if they did.

Fortunately, Brock merely waited for the exploding light of my second pokeball to reveal my pikachu, who drowsily blinked the sleep out of his eyes before a cartoonish bubble popped from his nose. I let him stretch and yawn himself awake before I called, "All set, buddy, we ain't done quite yet."

"Pi." Bel got himself into position and threw a Charge in for good measure, like he was taught to do whenever there was a lull in a fight.

I caught Brock shuffling whit his own panel for a moment before he released his second pokemon on the field. It was a sudowoodo.

"Begin!"

"Spread out a T-Wave, Bel!"

"Protect!"

"Piii!" With a slight cry of strain, Bel ejected the entirety of his Charge into a dozen bolts of sparks, which ignited the cotton spores around the sudowoodo in a lightshow that would have been quite the sight in any other circumstances. Here, they fruitlessly died down on the shimmering blue barrier. A pretty advanced move, but par for the course for a Gym trained pokemon, even at the second tier. Though I'd have to ask questions if it used the move a second time.

"Rush. Get a feel for it." Bel tsked in annoyance at the failed opening salvo but complied, slipping into a watered-down Quick Attack.

"Magnitude." The sudowoodo bent backward until his arm-things touched the dirt behind him in a surprising display of flexibility before springing back and _smashing_ into the ground. A cloud of dust rose and tremors made way to the general area where Bel currently was, making him stumble and eat dirt as he skidded off his momentum.

Calling for a Magnet Rise would hinder him from feeling the vibrations of a Rock Tomb. "Rush again! Circle tight around it!" If we had to deal with tremors again, there was no reason the derpy tree wouldn't have to as well.

I waited for a few seconds to see what Brock would do before realizing Bel would tire out soon. "T-Shock!"

Bel stopped dead on his tracks and released a thin, yellow lightning bolt towards the sudowoodo… who took it without flinching? Isn't he purely Rock typed?

"Slam!" The Rock type defied once again my and physics' expectations as he heeded his trainer's order, literally stretching his arms and legs to sling himself at Bel. I winced at the harsh smacking sound that reached my ears.

If nothing else, it revealed that its legs were currently Ingrained to the soil underneath it. That explained how he could have shrugged the shock off, as well as how he didn't just fly off after the slinging.

Fuck, that's annoying. "Iron Tail. Go for the legs."

"Slam! Don't let it come close!"

Bel's tail flashed a faint silver that reflected the lights above before Rushing at the sudowoodo and hacking at one of its ingrained legs. The sudowoodo traded off his roots being sliced to cash in on a double Slam with both of its boughs, sending Bel flying a good ten meters away.

Just as I was thinking that we had lost that exchange, Bel righted himself on the landing and zipped back to hack at the other leg of the sudowoodo who was already struggling to regain its balance, bobbing back and forth like a drawn back spring.

"Thunderbolt!"

My pikachu gritted his teeth and cried out in strain, sparks exploding outwards and regrouping into a much more potent lightning bolt than earlier – one that connected this time with the opposing rock-type.

Bel kept up the Thunderbolt for three seconds before he had to cut the output. He usually could give me three, maybe four of those on a good day. Here, he was left panting and wincing after the first one. This didn't look good, I couldn't remember him having ever taken this much damage before.

What really sealed the deal was that the sudowoodo was already standing back up. It was twitching erratically and looked scuffed and quite sluggish but you couldn't mistake the spark in its eyes as anything but readiness for more.

"That's not a second-tier pokemon…" I muttered, glaring balefully at Brock.

He just stood there impassibly for a few seconds before once again addressing his pokemon. "Rock Throw."

"Dodge!" I shouted, fumbling with the panel for the recall button and pressing it.

On the field, Bel dodged a first rock, a second, and a third, until the fourth one nicked him on the ear. Left dizzy by the crippling blow, he took another one straight to the ribs just before the red light of his pokeball recalled him inside it.

My fingers were chalk white from gripping the railing too tight. Was Bel alright? Was he knocked out? I've never let that happen before. How could I have? This wasn't supposed to happen! Would he be mad at me? Will he forgive me for it? No. No! NO! This never happened before. It was never supposed to hap-

The shrill buzzer from earlier tore me out of my panicking tangent. It was indicating a first warning for taking too long to call out my next pokemon.

I despondently clicked on Sedna's release, regretting that decision immediately after for not choosing Eole instead. I needed Sedna at full health for Brock's onix.

With a growl of frustration, I shook my head and lugged myself on the cheekbone. What the actual hell?! We had faced everything Viridian forest had to throw at us and came out on top. We were over-leveled for this Gym, for fuck's sake! There's no fucking way I'd allow myself to lose here!

"Sedna, Mist! And watch out for any rocks that come out of the ground!"

With a groan, my feebas began floating around erratically while spreading a thick and icy Mist out of her maw.

Being the sturdiest of the team, she managed to shrug off a Rock Tomb and a Rock Throw while still covering the terrain in the heavy Mist that constituted the most optimal environment for her when there weren't any body of water nearby. With the water particles in the air being a pure by-product of her inner reserves, she had the ability to sense movement inside a diameter of roughly six meters around her.

"Water Gun in bursts! Keep moving so they can't pin you down!"

After a minute or so of Sedna peppering at her foe with concussive blasts of water, Brock finally returned to its pokeball what felt like the biggest obstacle I've had to face until now.

I barely had time to take a deep breath before Brock called out his next combatant. I followed the trail of white light up to the ceiling until it revealed an onix.

Five, six, seven boulders. She was the one Brock used for second-tier battles. No surprise there at least, but that sudowoodo had sucked the confidence out of me, and I couldn't shake the feeling of impending defeat.

Shaking my head, I looked left – Sedna was actually to the right – to mislead Brock and shouted, "Reset the Mist!"

"Slam to the right, Onix!" Brock barked his own orders, obviously not enamored with the prospect of going in blind against a Water type.

Fortunately for us, he fell for the scam instead of looking at where the Mist was actually growing denser. Even though it managed to spread its body out over quite a large surface, he ended up missing Sedna by a few meters, leaving her to safely complete the task of plunging the arena in mist.

"Close in and Scald! Go for the eyes!"

"Dig!" Oh fuck off!

A growl escaped me as I bit on my thumb, outraged beyond measure at the non-Gym-Leader-y maneuver. What on earth did he expect a one-badger to do against that. I didn't have the firepower to deal with this particular bag of bullshit yet.

Feeling my face contort into a snarl, I gripped even harder at the railing. Flooding the tunnel could prove to be effective, but it would leave Sedna with very little in the tank while the onix could easily resurface without too much hassle. Whatever! You want to play it like this? Well buddy, you'll very soon realize that you're up against the biggest fucking hyena this world has ever seen.

"Sedna! Ready up the biggest fucking Water Pulse you can!" Oh 89-90 Pistons, please lend us your strength.

That was the best course of action, really. They couldn't pinpoint Sedna's location because she was floating and they quite simply couldn't stay underground forever; It was something of an unwritten rule that Gym Leaders straight up didn't have the right to play it too dirty – what with the very nature of the fight being a test of aptitude, as opposed to an all-out-and-to-the-death throw-down.

Seconds ticked down as Sedna's compressed orb of water grew in both size and pressure until it stopped at around a meter in diameter.

"That's enough, honey! Hang in there and wait for her to come out. It won't take long." I called out, already sweating from Brock's lack of a reaction. He wouldn't get into a battle of attrition against a one-badger now, would he?

…

_Minutes_ ticked down, as Sedna's giant Water Pulse began to waver, then dangerously oscillate, until it began losing volume by the bucket-load. Even worse, the Mist was beginning to thin out just as fast.

The growl from earlier came back with a vengeance, gaining a more feral quality to it as it tore out of my throat. It was time to cut my losses.

"Sedna. Please try to fit as much water as you can down the hole before letting it go." I despondently said, resigned and feeling like shit.

With great strain, Sedna brought the failed experiment of a Water Pulse over to the gap and let the majority of it trickle down the onix's burrow.

I returned her after that. Two of my pokemon were down for the count, with two still fresh to go. I hadn't planned for any battle after calling out Sedna, and I couldn't really rely on Saga against such a behemoth. She was greener than Grass.

A chortle escaped me at the lame pun, the feeble attempt at humor clearing the haze in my mind a tad.

Sighing, I chuckled bitterly, barely aware of the timer prompting me to call out my next pokemon. A bit of life came back to me as I realized my team and I had the odds stacked against us at the moment. We were back to being underdogs. It was that realization that gave me the kick of adrenaline I hadn't felt for weeks, since the ursaring entanglement.

Pressing on Eole's release button just before the timer expired, I immediately called out. "Eole! Jump right now!"

Just as Eole materialized into existence, his ears twitched in understanding before tensing his legs and springing into the air. Not a second too soon, as the ground exploded, the onix launching herself after him, maw wide open.

Shaking off the stupid urge of trying to destroy her from inside, I barked out. "Latch onto the crest on her head!"

While the both of them were temporarily airborne and the onix was definitely heavier than Eole, the togepi was still the first to have jumped, and thus the first to begin his descent. It allowed him to grab the serpent's rocky appendage, having righted his landing with a telekinetic pull on his shell.

"X-Touch then Rock Smash!" I barked out, tightly covering my ears with my palms in preparation to the screech that would no doubt follow.

What came next seemed to happen in slow motion. First, Eole flared purple; the light encompassing the onix's upper body as well. Then a flash of cyan merged with the purple before-

Blinking the spots out of my eyes after having shut them too tight, I had to right myself by grabbing at the railing. This whole enhanced senses thing was getting old very fast. I doubted my poor eardrums had it in them to survive battles at any higher a tier.

Following the most recent sensory overload, I was greeted by the sight of a confused Eole on top of a writhing, groaning onix. I rubbed my head awkwardly and looked at Brock, not sure what was supposed to come next.

I was saved from having to call for a cruel finish by the buzzer making its come back, this time lasting for about three seconds and thus, marking the end of the battle.

Jumping down from the railing before it had fully descended, I hurried to Eole's side. He met me halfway through and bounced into my waiting arms.

I felt kind of bummed out after using this combo against someone who I didn't have any real animosity towards, but it was the reality of such a sport. Anyway, Brock was cool enough that I didn't feel the need to gloat at the win.

With that, I simply whispered a few kind words to Eole's ear and told him to jump down as I neared the halfway circle, finding Brock already there, having recalled his onix.

"Congratulations Ash," Brock began with a smile, handing . "On behalf of the city of Pewter, I reward your ability with the Boulder Badge. As this is your second badge, your team and you have been granted a few privileges. You can from now on keep one of your friends out of their pokeballs and by your side inside agglomerations and cities as long as they do not exceed weight, or height limits. Sorry to say I don't remember the precise numbers, but they vary depending on the cities anyway. You could find out more about that in any PokeCenter if you'd like."

Shaking his outstretched hand, I debated over which course of action to take about the sudowoodo incident. I really wanted to complain and demand proof of its belonging in the second tier, but that would be dreadfully wimpy of me after all that talk about needing a challenge.

I ultimately ended up giving him a neutral nod. "Thank you for the battle. It was… educational. Goodbye."

Snatching my hand back with perhaps a bit more force than necessary, I spun on my heels and rushed to the PokeCenter.

* * *

"What am I even doing?"

An explosive sigh escaped me as I closed the book with a solid _thwump_, immediately freezing at the trill muttered by a dozing Eole, whose presence by my side had slipped from my mind.

I waited immobile until I was sure he wouldn't wake up before getting up and taking a few moments to stretch the soreness out of my muscles. Staying seated for more than ten hours would do that anyone.

It was strange, being in such an obviously public place when it was so empty. And what a place it was. Pewter's great library was a massive thing, part information paradise, part tourist attraction and part cultural monument. It was supposedly the oldest and richest well of information of the Kanjoh continent, though Johto and its people would die on the hill that the title belonged to Ecruteak's campus.

Rivalries aside, it hadn't felt right for the library to be empty when I had broke in last night, but now that the first rays of sunshine pierced through the large windows, it somehow felt even worse.

I couldn't say what spurred me on to illicitly break in when I could have done so legally during the day. All I knew was that I needed to get away from the PokeCenter at the time. The guilt of having put Sedna and Bel through all that damage with basically nothing to show for it was doing me in.

There were so much better calls I could have made during the match. I could have called for a Flash when it could have netted me the few seconds it would take for Bel to approach and go for an Iron Tail without taking any blow in return. He probably had another Thunderbolt to dish out, yet I didn't take advantage of that. Even against the only pokemon of Brock's not naturally immune to Electric attacks.

Even before that, I didn't even have to call Bel out. It was nothing but childishness on my part, wanting at all costs to make use of Saga's spores so I could cross that out of my to-do list. Same thing back in Viridian. It wasn't _necessary_ for him to come out. Yet my stupid ass thought using him to scoot a good idea.

And Sedna… Man, I really fumbled that bag in particular. I had literally just gained her trust back, and lost it again in the span of two weeks. After all those internal monologues about expecting the worse out of a situation and preparing for even worse than that, there was no doubt in my mind that I was nothing but a wart on the ass of their progress.

I came here to distract myself, for fuck's sake! And here I was agonizing over it again. This wouldn't change anything. I couldn't delay the conversation with Bel and Sedna any longer. It really should have happened as early as when I had gotten them back from Nurse Joy but I was too much of a coward to face them.

With a heavy sigh, I recalled Eole into his pokeball and began shelving all the tomes back to their approximate spots. I may have gotten in illegally, but I wasn't the type of asshole to let somebody else clean after me.

Jumping down from the window, I landed in a crouch and shook the sleep out of my legs. Day was beginning to break over the city's low buildings, covering their pointed rooftops with a brilliant amber shine. I had left my pokedex back in my room, but I had had enough early mornings to guess it was around oh-five-ten, or something like that.

The air felt crisp and dewy, like what you'd expect from a mountainous area, but not from a city with a population of more than a hundred thousand, and that never ceased to amaze me. By any means, Pewter would have been considered a decently sized city back on Earth. And yet, the pollution I had come to associate with-

"Hey, Ash!"

I fought to keep my wringing hands inside my pockets as I whirled in the direction of the voice. It was Brock, a comically large wicker basket that looked crack-full with provisions hanging from his elbow. The handle looked strained, like it was carrying more than it should be. I would have chalked that up to cartoon physics, but that stuff genuinely looked too heavy for a man to carry with only an arm.

Man, I needed sleep. This paranoia was getting out of hand.

"Hello," I began neutrally, still a bit miffed by yesterday's events. Though not willing to deal with awkward silences this early in the day, I added. "I wouldn't have thought the markets were open this early."

"Oh that," he said sheepishly. "I guess being a Gym Leader has its perks sometimes. They let me pick stuff straight from the warehouse when I come early enough. It's great when I can't come back home at lunch, since I need to do all the prep before going to work."

Unsure of what to make of him being so forthcoming, I shrugged noncommittally. "That's nice, I guess. Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you, good day." I said before turning away.

"Was it really the first battle you've lost?"

Stopping in my tracks, I shot him an unamused glance above my shoulder. "What's it to you?"

"Call it curiosity. Your records say you've been a registered trainer for about three months. I just find it hard to believe that you have had yet to know defeat before yesterday." Brock said, eyes open and focused.

"Look, man," I began, frustration bubbling inside me. "I don't particularly mind that the League's keeping an eye on me, but could you stop making it so obvious. But even without that, I'm not sure how that's any business of yours."

He answered to my glare with an understanding smile. "If you really wanted to be left alone, you'd have already left. I can tell when my siblings need to rant, and you've got the same look. You can go ahead if you'd like."

I peered at him for a moment, trying to find any hint of deceit on his expression. "I can deal with it by myself."

"I never said you couldn't do it alone, just that you might find it easier to share it with somebody else."

"No, I'd rather not. But thanks for the offer, it was kind of you." I turned away once again.

"Actually, could you answer a question of mine instead?"

With a frustrated breath, I faced him once more. "Alright, what do you want?"

He seemed to consider his next words carefully for a moment. "Tell me. What do you think is the difference between a good _trainer_ and a good _battler_?"

Taken aback by the strange question, I mulled it over. "I… don't know? Those seem to be the same thing."

"Alright then, take a seat. This could end up helping you for all you know. What do you even have to lose other than a few minutes of your morning." He said, plopping down on a bench and patting the spot beside him. I took a moment to think about it before doing so.

"So, let's put it this way; Take a team sport, like… say Basketball. It's established that players have personal trainers, and the team as a whole has a manager. Both of those guys have responsibilities towards their charges. You got me?" I nodded. "So, the former needs to develop the player's body into the best version of itself it can be, or at least as close to that as they can. And that is assuming the player actually wants to get better, but that's another thing we can discuss later.

"As to the coach or manager, well… let's just dumb their role down to 'winning'. Their job is to deliver during the games. You could ask fans, executives of the organization or anyone related to the team, and they'll you that, at the end of the day, all they ask for are results. All the effort they might put into creating drills, tactics, plays and all that jazz won't matter if the team as a whole fails to win. You see what I mean?" Brock asked.

"Maybe?" I scratched my head. "You're saying a pokemon Trainer has to juggle between being a good trainer _and_ being a good battler as well?"

"Kind of." He said, scrunching his brow. "Did you know that most breeders actually are trainer washouts?"

Raising an eyebrow at him, I interjected. "That doesn't seem to hard to believe, but what are you getting at, exactly?"

He seemed conflicted for a few seconds before blowing a sharp breath. "You know what? I'll just give it to you straight. You may be a good trainer, but you're not a good battler."

Facing him again, I fixed him with a confused look. "I mean… That's not exactly news to me?"

"Oh." Brock deflated. "Well, then why do you look so down?"

I scratched my chin, trying to put it into words. "Being aware of my shortcoming doesn't really make it go away, I guess. I'm more upset that it's not me taking the brunt of my errors, but my pokemon instead."

Taking off my cap, I ruffled my hair in frustration. "You know, we've been inside Viridian Forest for about a month, got into a lot of fights against… well, basically everything we could find. And my team, they never let me down once. And Eole and Bel, they are really young. They never even question me when I tell them to do something. Yet when it comes to me calling the shots, it always ends up with _them_ getting hurt."

Brock rose a skeptical eyebrow. "That's not something I hear everyday. If you're so… reluctant to send them to fight, then why would you choose to become a trainer?"

I winced. "I- I'm not sure. It just seemed like the only way for me to become someone. Does that make sense?"

"Kind of, yeah. I didn't originally chose to be a trainer or a Gym Leader either, you know? I thought to become a Breeder at first." Brock admitted.

"Gasp, I am astonished." I deadpanned.

"Yeah it's something of an open secret around Kanto. I'm actually only cleared to take on challenges up to the sixth tier. The League only allowed me to take on the job because of my talent in breeding and producing a lot of Starters and Gym-level low tiers for Viridian's shortage of those. Well, that and another skill the League is trying to keep under wraps." He said, smiling wryly.

I shelved that last part away for now. "Well, I'm glad for you but… Why are you telling me this?"

He began with a sigh. "I suppose that I see myself in you when I was a younger. I've been in your place before. It's not exactly common, but there has been a few kids who quit Training because they couldn't bear watching their pokemon lose too many times. This _is _a pretty dangerous sport, after all. I'm not really big on statistics, but practically every Trainer ends up losing a member of their team at one point in their careers."

I sat there, reflecting over what Brock had said, not knowing what point he was trying to make, before finding my feet and stretching my arms above my head. "Look, man. I appreciate what you're trying to do, really. I'll be frank and admit that I have no idea what you're trying to make me understand. But I thank you for getting me out of my funk, if nothing else."

"So, what will you do?"

Readjusting the rim on my cap, I grinned helplessly. "Hehe, I don't know yet. But I'll have to talk to Bel and Sedna before anything else."

Brock chuckled. "Well, I wish you luck."

"By the way," I pointed at the basket. "Can I try lifting that?"

He rose a challenging eyebrow. "You're welcome to try, kid."

Bending my knees, I gripped the handle tightly with a hand and lifted, already expecting the weight. I strained to get it higher than my thigh and only just managed it with both arms.

Breathing harshly, I threw him an inquisitive glance. "There's like a hundred pounds in here."

Brock simply smirked mysteriously at me.

"I don't suppose you're to shed light on this?"

"You already know way too much for a two badger. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, but it won't be from men" he said with a tight lipped smile.

"Tsk, whatever."

With that annoying piece of mystery hanging in the air, I walked east towards the mountains. It was time I cleared everything with Bel and Sedna.

LINE BREAK

**T****eam Members:**

**Eole (**Togepi**) – Lvl 21**

**Sedna (**Feebas**) – Lvl 26**

**Bel (**Pikachu**) – Lvl 24**

**Saga (**Cottonee**) – Lvl 19**

**A/N: ****Sup^^. I'm not sure what the general consensus on the new addition to the team is, but ****the**** reviewers ****who ****did come forward ****seemed to agree on the fact that s****he**** was ****rather**** underwhelming. I can understand that, ****and**** even agree ****to a degree****. **_**However**_**, cuz there's always a but, I like underwhelming. I love ****underdog stories****, and so do y'all – ****so does everyone,**** that's a fact.**

**I won't go a****s**** far as to say I don't care about what you readers might think, **_**but **_**I…**** yeah, I kind of don't. There are enough f****ics on this platform**** with OverUsed teams of G****reninja****, L****ucario****, Charizard, etc. I like****d**** t****hose fics**** just as much as anyone ****at one point****, but nobody can convince me ****that**** they aren't bland.**

**Sadly, I'm kind of below average ****at**** practically everything writing-related, so you'****ll probably ****won't find much better here****. ****At least **_**I'll**_** be reassured in ****the fact**** that I tried to do things differently.**

**On the topic of**** Saga, I have to admit the way I wrote her really wasn't what I had planned. Her character ****not much of one yet**** kind of wrote itself, as ****did**** most of this story. I don't know if I should be saying this, but basically everything in this f****ic**** was just me typing whatever I had in mind until I pieced something resembling a chapter together.**

**So, I guess what I'm asking for would be a bit of leniency, as I'm already somewhat aware of my shortcomings and really only need time and practice to overcome them. I wouldn't say no to actual constructive criticism, though.**

**A****nyway****, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try ****my best ****to get the next one out before ****long.**

**L****INE BREAK**

**U****ploaded on : ****07****/2020**


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